MD & DO Co’22 ERAS Panic Thread

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I’m planning to apply to probably every IM prelim/TY within a 50 mile radius of the advanced sites I’m applying to and then some non-local community TYs to rank after the local programs.

My SO and I have moved 800+ miles three times so far and it’s always absolutely terrible - nasty, screaming fights because we have a major difference of opinion that ends up being a point to fight over every single time. If we could get along during the moving process I’d be okay with moving twice, but as it is, I would rather work the 200 or however many extra hours and replete potassium at 2 AM tbh. The thought of having to go through all that drama twice makes me want to curl up into a hole and never come out.
 
calivianya said:
I’m planning to apply to probably every IM prelim/TY within a 50 mile radius of the advanced sites I’m applying to and then some non-local community TYs to rank after the local programs.

My SO and I have moved 800+ miles three times so far and it’s always absolutely terrible - nasty, screaming fights because we have a major difference of opinion that ends up being a point to fight over every single time. If we could get along during the moving process I’d be okay with moving twice, but as it is, I would rather work the 200 or however many extra hours and replete potassium at 2 AM tbh. The thought of having to go through all that drama twice makes me want to curl up into a hole and never come out.
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ouch, that ERAS bill
 
How long after new years do interviews usually start up again? May or may not be trying to plan a trip in that stretch and want to see how many days I have to work with. Considering it falls out on a weekend, should we assume interviews will start up again that Monday right after? Based on some quick browsing of interview dates from last year, seems like lots of programs didn't start back up again until a week after New year's.
 
fldoctorgirl said:
How long after new years do interviews usually start up again? May or may not be trying to plan a trip in that stretch and want to see how many days I have to work with. Considering it falls out on a weekend, should we assume interviews will start up again that Monday right after? Based on some quick browsing of interview dates from last year, seems like lots of programs didn't start back up again until a week after New year's.
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my last interview before the christmas/New Years holidays was December 22, and my first interview after the holidays was January 4. So I would NOT assume you could take a vacation. And I actually had 2 interviews that week. So 2 in the week that you are thinking is safe.
 
fldoctorgirl said:
How long after new years do interviews usually start up again? May or may not be trying to plan a trip in that stretch and want to see how many days I have to work with. Considering it falls out on a weekend, should we assume interviews will start up again that Monday right after? Based on some quick browsing of interview dates from last year, seems like lots of programs didn't start back up again until a week after New year's.
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I had one December 31st, and some of my classmates had them Jan 2nd…
 
DOVinciRobot said:
I had one December 31st, and some of my classmates had them Jan 2nd…
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December 31st?? Damn. I thought it was an unspoken rule that the 24th-1st had nothing. Also, the 2nd was a Saturday....do I have to worry about weekend interviews now too...
 
So I’m having a frustrating month. Finished my Sub-I and felt I performed super well. Got great feedback and got stuck with an HP as a grade. Got one very strong letter and one letter which I would consider average. Had some good qualities listed but ended with the classic “student is in the top 25%” quote. I’m an otherwise pretty strong applicant. Is this a letter I should feel concerned to use at all?
 
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bigfootisreal said:
So I’m having a frustrating month. Finished my Sub-I and felt I performed super well. Got great feedback and got stuck with an HP as a grade. Got one very strong letter and one letter which I would consider average. Had some good qualities listed but ended with the classic “student is in the top 25%” quote. I’m an otherwise pretty strong applicant. Is this a letter I should feel concerned to use at all?
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I wouldn't sweat that comment. Literally every letter has top 10 to 25 percent comment to the point where the number is essentially meaningless. It would only be concerning if they substituted "top" for "bottom".
 
bigfootisreal said:
That’s good to know. The subjectivity of this process can be mildly infuriating.
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That's why we make everyone include a photo... so we can get past the subjectivity of letters and grades and objectively determine who is "Hot or Not"...
 
SurfingDoctor said:
That's why we make everyone include a photo... so we can get past the subjectivity of letters and grades and objectively determine who is "Hot or Not"...
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pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Bias in Radiology Resident Selection: Do We Discriminate Against the Obese and Unattractive? - PubMed

Findings provide preliminary evidence of discrimination against facially unattractive and obese applicants in radiology resident selection. Obesity and attractiveness were as influential in applicant selection for interview as traditional medical school performance metrics. Selection committees...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

“Applicant facial attractiveness strongly predicted rating (attractive vs unattractive, B = 0.30 [SE = 0.056]; neutral vs unattractive, B = 0.13 [SE = 0.028]).”
 
Steve_Zissou said:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Bias in Radiology Resident Selection: Do We Discriminate Against the Obese and Unattractive? - PubMed

Findings provide preliminary evidence of discrimination against facially unattractive and obese applicants in radiology resident selection. Obesity and attractiveness were as influential in applicant selection for interview as traditional medical school performance metrics. Selection committees...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

“Applicant facial attractiveness strongly predicted rating (attractive vs unattractive, B = 0.30 [SE = 0.056]; neutral vs unattractive, B = 0.13 [SE = 0.028]).”
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I mean, my post was in jest, but it's no secret that it can influence people in all walks of life.

Whether or not this story is true or just a wives tale, in the mid-20th century before the MATCH, applicants would essentially send a resume and a photo to prospective residencies (just like now). It was said, that at UCSF General Surgery program, after a brief screening process, the applicants photos would be handed to the departmental administrative assistant and she would "rank" them most to least attractive and by that rank list, they would decide who they would offer spot to. Of course, there was the allowed nepotism and greasing of wheels to move up the list, but generally speaking, it was a "Hot or Not" list.

I never personally seen it discussed openly and I personally couldn't care less how someone looks when ranking (unless their attire is weird on the interview day) but I have no doubt it does happen in some aspect.
 
SurfingDoctor said:
I mean, my post was in jest, but it's no secret that it can influence people in all walks of life.

Whether or not this story is true or just a wives tale, in the mid-20th century before the MATCH, applicants would essentially send a resume and a photo to prospective residencies (just like now). It was said, that at UCSF General Surgery program, after a brief screening process, the applicants photos would be handed to the departmental administrative assistant and she would "rank" them most to least attractive and by that rank list, they would decide who they would offer spot to. Of course, there was the allowed nepotism and greasing of wheels to move up the list, but generally speaking, it was a "Hot or Not" list.

I never personally seen it discussed openly and I personally couldn't care less how someone looks when ranking (unless their attire is weird on the interview day) but I have no doubt it does happen in some aspect.
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Wtf. Holy crap. That is insane.
 
SurfingDoctor said:
I mean, my post was in jest, but it's no secret that it can influence people in all walks of life.

Whether or not this story is true or just a wives tale, in the mid-20th century before the MATCH, applicants would essentially send a resume and a photo to prospective residencies (just like now). It was said, that at UCSF General Surgery program, after a brief screening process, the applicants photos would be handed to the departmental administrative assistant and she would "rank" them most to least attractive and by that rank list, they would decide who they would offer spot to. Of course, there was the allowed nepotism and greasing of wheels to move up the list, but generally speaking, it was a "Hot or Not" list.

I never personally seen it discussed openly and I personally couldn't care less how someone looks when ranking (unless their attire is weird on the interview day) but I have no doubt it does happen in some aspect.
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This is why I have been working on my pre-match rally mullet and mustache.
 
Steve_Zissou said:
Also, what is the difference between NRMP and ERAS? Will I need to fill out NRMP with all the same info as ERAS?
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ERAS is the application software, NRMP is the match software basically. You apply and get interviews through ERAS, and you rank your programs on the NRMP at the end. And no, I don't think you have to enter more info on NRMP besides your personal/identitying info and the programs you are ranking.
 
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DrStephenStrange said:
ERAS is the application software, NRMP is the match software basically. You apply and get interviews through ERAS, and you rank your programs on the NRMP at the end. And I no, I don't think you have to enter more info on NRMP besides your personal/identitying info and the programs you are ranking.
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That’s super helpful man, thank you
 
Steve_Zissou said:
Yo, anyone know how we put in research that has been submitted for publication but hasn’t been accepted anywhere yet?
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Under “Research experience” and say that you’ve submitted a publication as part of the description of the research experience you had that netted that submission.
 
SurfingDoctor said:
Under “Research experience” and say that you’ve submitted a publication as part of the description of the research experience you had that netted that submission.
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Hmmm I see a “publications” subheadings but not research experience. I’ll take a look in a bit and report back with what I find.
 
Steve_Zissou said:
Hmmm I see a “publications” subheadings but not research experience. I’ll take a look in a bit and report back with what I find.
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There are free text areas for “Work experience”, “Research experience” and “Volunteer experience”. Actually I only glance at the publication and abstracts section because most applicants screw that part up (or outright lie) and so I find the “experience” section more informative and meaningful.
 
Steve_Zissou said:
Yo, anyone know how we put in research that has been submitted for publication but hasn’t been accepted anywhere yet?
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Under Publications, choose "Peer reviewed journal articles/abstracts (Other than published)" and then the fields will include a dropdown to select publication status (Submitted, Provisionally Accepted, Accepted, In Press)
 
So a lot of people on here harped on including any service industry work experience....so like, is the consensus that I should include a job all the way from high school? I feel like it's reaching far back but people from the 2021 thread seemed to think it was a positive aspect of their application.

Also, what about research experience from college? I don't have any from med school so it's either college or none.
 
fldoctorgirl said:
So a lot of people on here harped on including any service industry work experience....so like, is the consensus that I should include a job all the way from high school? I feel like it's reaching far back but people from the 2021 thread seemed to think it was a positive aspect of their application.

Also, what about research experience from college? I don't have any from med school so it's either college or none.
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I included early work experience that was 1+ year as I think it highlights my path and work ethic. But, for e.g., I worked as a camp counselor for 2 months one summer, I didn't include experiences like that.
 
fldoctorgirl said:
So a lot of people on here harped on including any service industry work experience....so like, is the consensus that I should include a job all the way from high school? I feel like it's reaching far back but people from the 2021 thread seemed to think it was a positive aspect of their application.

Also, what about research experience from college? I don't have any from med school so it's either college or none.
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Definitely put college research experience on there. Don't put high school jobs. You can put college and gap year jobs if it fits your brand on the application. Some will do it. Some will not.
 
InFreudWeTrust said:
I included early work experience that was 1+ year as I think it highlights my path and work ethic. But, for e.g., I worked as a camp counselor for 2 months one summer, I didn't include experiences like that.
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Yeah, I was a camp counselor too and figured I wouldn't include that. I worked at a restaurant for over a year in high school but I never considered it to be very important (it's not on my CV, for example) so just unsure on whether I should include it in ERAS.

Neopolymath said:
Definitely put college research experience on there. Don't put high school jobs. You can put college and gap year jobs if it fits your brand on the application. Some will do it. Some will not.
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Thank you! As an aside, when we're putting descriptions for things (like research, let's say), is it appropriate or expected for us to put something more personal like what we got from the experience etc.? Or literally just describe what it is? I feel like I'm just regurgitating my CV right now just describing what I actually did. I'm doing bullet points right now and also haven't been putting anything for 'reason for leaving' or 'hours/week' etc.
 
fldoctorgirl said:
Yeah, I was a camp counselor too and figured I wouldn't include that. I worked at a restaurant for over a year in high school but I never considered it to be very important (it's not on my CV, for example) so just unsure on whether I should include it in ERAS.


Thank you! As an aside, when we're putting descriptions for things (like research, let's say), is it appropriate or expected for us to put something more personal like what we got from the experience etc.? Or literally just describe what it is? I feel like I'm just regurgitating my CV right now just describing what I actually did. I'm doing bullet points right now and also haven't been putting anything for 'reason for leaving' or 'hours/week' etc.
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You are doing fine. I'm going to be annoying and answer your question with a question though lol.

If you tell me literally everything about your listed experience then what will I have to ask you about during the interview?

For example, listing something like:
1. running - completed 2 half marathons during 3rd year

Gives me the chance to ask when where how did it go and what did you learn etc but it is also specific enough to be useful to me. What do you like cooking? Where do you like hiking? What type of weightlifting do you do?

For research, I think it's important to stay objective. They will ask you what your research meant to you or you will bring it up on your own if it's part of your brand or you know it's important for a particular program.
 
fldoctorgirl said:
Yeah, I was a camp counselor too and figured I wouldn't include that. I worked at a restaurant for over a year in high school but I never considered it to be very important (it's not on my CV, for example) so just unsure on whether I should include it in ERAS.
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I think I'm maybe going to include my summer camp employment, but only because it was paid employment with kids and I'm applying to a specialty involving kids, I don't think I would include it otherwise.
 
Neopolymath said:
You are doing fine. I'm going to be annoying and answer your question with a question though lol.

If you tell me literally everything about your listed experience then what will I have to ask you about during the interview?

For example, listing something like:
1. running - completed 2 half marathons during 3rd year

Gives me the chance to ask when where how did it go and what did you learn etc but it is also specific enough to be useful to me. What do you like cooking? Where do you like hiking? What type of weightlifting do you do?

For research, I think it's important to stay objective. They will ask you what your research meant to you or you will bring it up on your own if it's part of your brand or you know it's important for a particular program.
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This is helpful, but also I had heard to be specific about your hobbies because it's more interesting that way? Like, I got the advice to list "I love cooking xyz food" instead of just "I like to cook".
 
fldoctorgirl said:
This is helpful, but also I had heard to be specific about your hobbies because it's more interesting that way? Like, I got the advice to list "I love cooking xyz food" instead of just "I like to cook".
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That’s what I did. My fiancée and I buy cookbooks from famous chefs and try to recreate them. Some of them are really tough dishes, so I listed cooking as “recreating the dishes of professional chefs from around the world.” You’ve gotta actually know a little about the chefs though, because if they ask “what chefs” and you draw a blank, they’ll call the bluff.
 
fldoctorgirl said:
This is helpful, but also I had heard to be specific about your hobbies because it's more interesting that way? Like, I got the advice to list "I love cooking xyz food" instead of just "I like to cook".
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That's what I'm saying. I agree. You should do that. Just don't go super over the top explaining why your research was important. Hobbies should definitely be listed more specifically.
 
For all of the baby faced males on this thread--I know this had been hashed out before.......What's the consensus on having a small amount of stubble if it's properly groomed in ERAS cover photos? I rarely am clean-shaven and no issues on rotations so far (although masks have been a thing). I look much more mature with facial hair than without.....
 
Neopolymath said:
That's what I'm saying. I agree. You should do that. Just don't go super over the top explaining why your research was important. Hobbies should definitely be listed more specifically.
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Ah okay, I misunderstood. Thanks a lot!!
 
NicMouse64 said:
For all of the baby faced males on this thread--I know this had been hashed out before.......What's the consensus on having a small amount of stubble if it's properly groomed in ERAS cover photos? I rarely am clean-shaven and no issues on rotations so far (although masks have been a thing). I look much more mature with facial hair than without.....
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Why take the chance? You can't be bothered to shave one day for one picture? Being totally frank, this whole stubble thing doesn't make sense for a professional photo being judged by a bunch of old white dudes. Why even open yourself up to that possibility of it somehow negatively affecting you just to avoid an inconvenience?
 
Neopolymath said:
Why take the chance? You can't be bothered to shave one day for one picture? Being totally frank, this whole stubble thing doesn't make sense for a professional photo being judged by a bunch of old white dudes. Why even open yourself up to that possibility of it somehow negatively affecting you just to avoid an inconvenience?
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that's what i needed to hear lol. I'll shave. Just didn't know if baby face<manly face with stubble hahahaha. sounds like I need to shave....
 
NicMouse64 said:
that's what i needed to hear lol. I'll shave. Just didn't know if baby face<manly face with stubble hahahaha. sounds like I need to shave....
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I'm glad I didn't come off like a huge ass but I really wanted to get the message across on priorities lol. Good luck this year.
 
Neopolymath said:
I'm glad I didn't come off like a huge ass but I really wanted to get the message across on priorities lol. Good luck this year.
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Meh, I've seen enough of your posts to understand your intentions are good, I appreciate the directness.
 
Me....wrapping up ERAS...because I haven't done that much stuff....

Screen_Shot_2018-03-30_at_11.34.27_AM.jpg
 
Also, when do programs typically update their websites for the next cycle?
 
I'm struggling to find good information on this although I bet someone has asked this in SDN before, so apologies in advance if I'm being too redundant: Most specialties on the "charting outcomes in the match" 2018 document have 10 or more volunteer experiences. How much of this is minor stuff, and does it mean I should be including it?
I did quite a bit of volunteering before my clinical rotations but when asked to list experiences I can come up with 6, because almost all my volunteering was part of a handful of projects and the rest are a handful of 1-3 hour stints at places I never again returned to.
 
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