MD & DO Co’22 ERAS Panic Thread

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I somehow thought the application would be a lot more intricate ha. Seems fairly basic.

Anyways...it's cool to apply to multiple tracks at the same hospital, right? Like, if they offer regular IM and also IM primary care, I can apply to both?
 
fldoctorgirl said:
I somehow thought the application would be a lot more intricate ha. Seems fairly basic.

Anyways...it's cool to apply to multiple tracks at the same hospital, right? Like, if they offer regular IM and also IM primary care, I can apply to both?
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Yes you can apply to multiple at one program, very common for specialties that have both a research track and regular track as well
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
That’s more than enough for me to write “None.”
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None is fine. Or you can leave it blank. In the past, this section was titled "Honors and Awards". My fav was when people listed all of the courses / clerkships they got "honors" in. My super fav were people who did this in medical schools that have a High Honors / Honors / Pass grading system.
 
NotAProgDirector said:
None is fine. Or you can leave it blank. In the past, this section was titled "Honors and Awards". My fav was when people listed all of the courses / clerkships they got "honors" in. My super fav were people who did this in medical schools that have a High Honors / Honors / Pass grading system.
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Gotta wonder how many people are out here listing stuff like eagle scouts and high school valedictorian, too
 
efle said:
Gotta wonder how many people are out here listing stuff like eagle scouts and high school valedictorian, too
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I put Eagle Scout on my application. It came up in almost every interview as a positive thing and one PD told me it was one of the reasons they wanted to interview me.
 
DOVinciRobot said:
I put Eagle Scout on my application. It came up in almost every interview as a positive thing and one PD told me it was one of the reasons they wanted to interview me.
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I watched my sibling do it and it seemed to basically amount to building some benches for a school

Are physicians really out here awarding interview slots to other physicians over benches they built in high school ??
 
efle said:
Gotta wonder how many people are out here listing stuff like eagle scouts and high school valedictorian, too
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Reminds me of a kid I went to undergrad with who listed taking care of his dog (“Think what you want! It’s hard work and shows responsibility!”) as a meaningful activity on his med school app

He graduates with a graduate degree in anatomy this year.
 
efle said:
I watched my sibling do it and it seemed to basically amount to building some benches for a school

Are physicians really out here awarding interview slots to other physicians over benches they built in high school ??
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That's not what getting an Eagle Scout entails.....
 
efle said:
That was their "service project"
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Right, which is a tiny aspect of it. I wouldn't put Eagle Scout in the same basket as listing the rotations you got Honors in as an "Honor."

I'm not kidding. I went on almost 20 interviews, and it came up in just about every single one in a very positive way.
 
DOVinciRobot said:
Right, which is a tiny aspect of it. I wouldn't put Eagle Scout in the same basket as listing the rotations you got Honors in as an "Honor."

I'm not kidding. I went on almost 20 interviews, and it came up in just about every single one in a very positive way.
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My hobby always came up too, but that's been ongoing. I guess if it's still fun to talk about 10 years later why not put it down!
 
efle said:
My hobby always came up too, but that's been ongoing. I guess if it's still fun to talk about 10 years later why not put it down!
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If that's how you want to view it I guess. I could be more specific with what was said to me about it but all I will say is that it wasn't in the same context as hobbies.
 
People view Eagle Scout as a signal for character and leadership. Also, in the South people love it.

It could be mostly bull**** for people in highschool now. No clue. But "scout's honor" and knowing astronauts and presidents were eagle scouts is still common knowledge and sets the brand. It's definitely something to include.

Edit: and to dovetail with my recent post about research I think it holds far more real world weight IMO than doing a couple case reports lol.
 
Struggling to get to 50 programs on my list. I literally only want to be in one place, so anything else I add just feels completely random and the websites are often so crappy I can't get any good info from them. Simultaneously, I'm panicking and thinking I need like 80 programs. Rip this process sucks I wish I could just apply to the 20 programs I actually love and call it a day.
 
Neopolymath said:
People view Eagle Scout as a signal for character and leadership. Also, in the South people love it.

It could be mostly bull**** for people in highschool now. No clue. But "scout's honor" and knowing astronauts and presidents were eagle scouts is still common knowledge and sets the brand. It's definitely something to include.

Edit: and to dovetail with my recent post about research I think it holds far more real world weight IMO than doing a couple case reports lol.
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Dang do people put stuff like national merit and high level highschool sports on their ERAS too?
 
fldoctorgirl said:
Struggling to get to 50 programs on my list. I literally only want to be in one place, so anything else I add just feels completely random and the websites are often so crappy I can't get any good info from them. Simultaneously, I'm panicking and thinking I need like 80 programs. Rip this process sucks I wish I could just apply to the 20 programs I actually love and call it a day.
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Do the 80, even if you're lukewarm on the other 30. You can always cancel interviews. I have friends who would trade a lot more than the app cost to have applied more places.
 
fldoctorgirl said:
Struggling to get to 50 programs on my list. I literally only want to be in one place, so anything else I add just feels completely random and the websites are often so crappy I can't get any good info from them. Simultaneously, I'm panicking and thinking I need like 80 programs. Rip this process sucks I wish I could just apply to the 20 programs I actually love and call it a day.
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Do not do 80.. with your stats and the specialty youre goin for I doubt you even need 50, but I understand that thinking. But 80 is overkill..
 
efle said:
Do the 80, even if you're lukewarm on the other 30. You can always cancel interviews. I have friends who would trade a lot more than the app cost to have applied more places.
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It's more the struggle of finding programs. Just feels like randomly throwing a dart out. Websites suck 95% of the time.
 
Cranjis McBasketball said:
Do not do 80.. with your stats and the specialty youre goin for I doubt you even need 50, but I understand that thinking. But 80 is overkill..
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It's actually because of her stats I say it. I've seen 250+ candidates with great applications fail to match specialties with average boards, and a big part is that nobody believes they'd be interested except the extremely competitive upper end. Yield protection can be bad news
 
efle said:
Dang do people put stuff like national merit and high level highschool sports on their ERAS too?
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Forgive me if you're being sarcastic but I've not heard of anybody doing that or being a valedictorian or something like that. In fact, the only things I've heard of people doing in high school listed were things that you might be on TV for aside from being an eagle scout.

If targeting old boys club type programs and specialties then it's not silly. It's a branding opportunity to appeal to these old white dude PDs.
 
I've got 58 DR programs saved, but I'll probably apply to the top programs for ****s and gigs. Worst that can happen is that they say no. I mean, realistically no way am I going to get an interview invite to MGH or UCSF, but if I did, I would 100% go for the experience.
 
efle said:
It's actually because of her stats I say it. I've seen 250+ candidates with great applications fail to match specialties with average boards, and a big part is that nobody believes they'd be interested except the extremely competitive upper end. Yield protection can be bad news
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I have conflicting feelings on this. It's my biggest fear about this cycle. Also, as a DO 250+ applicant it's hard to gauge where I fit because the programs where my step is actually in line with their matched residents (based on residency explorer) typically have zero DOs in their programs.

Anyways, I've heard from a couple of PDs that yield protection doesn't exist in residency apps. But I can understand the idea of not wanting to 'waste' an interview on an applicant you think is using you as a safety. But like...what does an applicant like me do?? This is why I like the idea of app caps.
 
What're y'all doing for pre-med school work experiences - include broadly or only super relevant stuff? Specifically trying to decide if it's worth listing college employment at a summer program, I doubt it would matter if I were applying just IM but since I'm applying Med-Peds maybe it's worth including since it's work experience with kids?
 
Neopolymath said:
Forgive me if you're being sarcastic but I've not heard of anybody doing that or being a valedictorian or something like that. In fact, the only things I've heard of people doing in high school listed were things that you might be on TV for aside from being an eagle scout.

If targeting old boys club type programs and specialties then it's not silly. It's a branding opportunity to appeal to these old white dude PDs.
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Not kidding I have no idea what people feel was important from their teenage years. My ERAS was all college and medschool stuff but I didn't earn 20 merit badges for camping skills so I have no idea how much that sticks with you later in life as a secret handshake

Steve_Zissou said:
I've got 58 DR programs saved, but I'll probably apply to the top programs for ****s and gigs. Worst that can happen is that they say no. I mean, realistically no way am I going to get an interview invite to MGH or UCSF, but if I did, I would 100% go for the experience.
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Everyone should include UCSF for rads, they knocked my socks off at interview day. Only major west coast program that is protecting independent call at all their sites - Stanford, UCLA and U of WA have all caved and started transferring to partly or fully attending overread. They would've been my #1 if it wasn't $4,000/mo for a 2bedroom apartment.

fldoctorgirl said:
I have conflicting feelings on this. It's my biggest fear about this cycle. Also, as a DO 250+ applicant it's hard to gauge where I fit because the programs where my step is actually in line with their matched residents (based on residency explorer) typically have zero DOs in their programs.

Anyways, I've heard from a couple of PDs that yield protection doesn't exist in residency apps. But I can understand the idea of not wanting to 'waste' an interview on an applicant you think is using you as a safety. But like...what does an applicant like me do?? This is why I like the idea of app caps.
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Maybe they don't practice it themselves but many places do. This is an obnoxious humblebrag so I apologize in advance, but I can tell you I got 12 of the "top" 15, and only a handful of invites from the other dozens of places I included, many of which I would have actually preferred because we wanted to buy a house. The only way to insulate yourself is to apply to a ton of places and if you have particular ones you'd like that aren't usually filled with 250 applicants, write them a letter and say so
 
efle said:
Not kidding I have no idea what people feel was important from their teenage years. My ERAS was all college and medschool stuff but I didn't earn 20 merit badges for camping skills so I have no idea how much that sticks with you later in life as a secret handshake


Everyone should include UCSF for rads, they knocked my socks off at interview day. Only major west coast program that is protecting independent call at all their sites - Stanford, UCLA and U of WA have all caved and started transferring to partly or fully attending overread. They would've been my #1 if it wasn't $4,000/mo for a 2bedroom apartment.


Maybe they don't practice it themselves but many places do. This is an obnoxious humblebrag so I apologize in advance, but I can tell you I got 12 of the "top" 15, and only a handful of invites from the other dozens of places I included, many of which I would have actually preferred because we wanted to buy a house. The only way to insulate yourself is to apply to a ton of places and if you have particular ones you'd like that aren't usually filled with 250 applicants, write them a letter and say so
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That would likely keep me from UCSF as well. I’m also a DO so there’s that massive barrier.
 
efle said:
This is an obnoxious humblebrag so I apologize in advance
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Not at all, I appreciate the honesty. This process is muddled enough already. I'll take another look at my list and try adding some more higher-ranked places.
 
Also a possibly dumb question (currently procrastinating on other things by inputting ERAS info) - I see the "average weekly hours" field isn't mandatory. For activities without consistent weekly hours, better to leave blank or estimate something?
 
efle said:
Is it? I think of national level sports in high school as more impressive than boy scouts, personally. Still would seem weird to put on a physician CV a decade later
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Yeah, it comes across very much like you’re belittling people who would list that stuff.
 
efle said:
I'd certainly prefer to think those kinds of minor decisions arent what steer one to their college, medschool and residency programs. But sometimes I bet it does. Weird to think about.
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I doubt someone is actually getting an interview because of that, but it probably isn’t hurting to have a memorable talking point.
 
I feel like I know where @efle is coming from. It’s been at least 7 years since I’ve listed anything before I started working in healthcare on a resume, and it would not have occurred to me to dig up stuff that far back for residency apps.

Good to know, though. I do have some cool experiences from the days of the way back that would be neat talking points even though they have nothing to do with who I am now or what kind of physician I would be.
 
efle said:
Is it? I think of national level sports in high school as more impressive than boy scouts, personally. Still would seem weird to put on a physician CV a decade later
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I played national level sports in high school and had a D1 opportunity in one of the big 3. Didn't list that. Eagle Scout is an honor that follows you for life, and like @Neopolymath said is often used as something that is viewed as representing character and leadership. And no, it isn't just at the good old boys programs either, the PD who was the most into it and literally told me it was one of the main reasons they interviewed me was the exact opposite of an old white guy.

I listed my ES because of two reasons,1. I had multiple physician mentors tell me to, and 2. my dad told me his has come up in every job interview he's ever had. It's definitely something that can be a talking point, and more than a few people in positions that matter obviously take it as an important accomplishment. After what happened this application cycle and seeing how much it came up I will list it on my CV until I die.

I think people forget residency is a job application, and there is more to life than just excellent academics. On similar train of thought since it came up a bit ago in the thread, I have no idea why anyone would not list work experiences that didn't occur in medical school or weren't healthcare related. Work experience is significant to employers, even if it is just being a part-time McDonald's employee in college. No you can't overcome crappy academics with tons of ECs, work, and life experience, but if you only have academics you're going to struggle pretty bad as well and then post on Reddit complaining how you didn't get the residency you wanted even though you did "everything right." I've seen that story play out far too many times for it to be a coincidence.

/end soapbox
 
DOVinciRobot said:
I played national level sports in high school and had a D1 opportunity in one of the big 3. Didn't list that. Eagle Scout is an honor that follows you for life, and like @Neopolymath said is often used as something that is viewed as representing character and leadership. And no, it isn't just at the good old boys programs either, the PD who was the most into it and literally told me it was one of the main reasons they interviewed me was the exact opposite of an old white guy.

I listed my ES because of two reasons,1. I had multiple physician mentors tell me to, and 2. my dad told me his has come up in every job interview he's ever had. It's definitely something that can be a talking point, and more than a few people in positions that matter obviously take it as an important accomplishment. After what happened this application cycle and seeing how much it came up I will list it on my CV until I die.

I think people forget residency is a job application, and there is more to life than just excellent academics. On similar train of thought since it came up a bit ago in the thread, I have no idea why anyone would not list work experiences that didn't occur in medical school or weren't healthcare related. Work experience is significant to employers, even if it is just being a part-time McDonald's employee in college. No you can't overcome crappy academics with tons of ECs, work, and life experience, but if you only have academics you're going to struggle pretty bad as well and then post on Reddit complaining how you didn't get the residency you wanted even though you did "everything right." I've seen that story play out far too many times for it to be a coincidence.

/end soapbox
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Hard to blame a cycle outcome on someone not including their summer lifeguard gigs instead of boardscores, grades and letters, but agree about high value talking points. Stuff I put in the hobbies box with little thought ended up being most of the discussion for some of my interviews. I think often they just want to make sure you're a normal human being that can have a good conversation though (especially in rads haha)
 
fldoctorgirl said:
Struggling to get to 50 programs on my list. I literally only want to be in one place, so anything else I add just feels completely random and the websites are often so crappy I can't get any good info from them. Simultaneously, I'm panicking and thinking I need like 80 programs. Rip this process sucks I wish I could just apply to the 20 programs I actually love and call it a day.
Click to expand...
Maybe it was just rads, but I had a hard time breaking out of the region of my school, even though my hometown was listed on ERAS and I primarily applied to that region. I strongly recommend you look into programs in your school region that you’d like, even if you wouldn’t like the location.

The stupid yield protection is real. As a DO with high stats, low tier programs you’re interested in might not bother and think you’re applying wherever and not really interested. Meanwhile, more competitive programs don’t want a DO. I’ve actually wondered if my interview yield would’ve been higher if I shaved 15 points off my boards.

But hey at least we know sacral rocking so it evens out.
 
stickgirl390 said:
@fldoctorgirl Have you looked at Texas? I was short 4 programs (trying to get up to 60) and found 14 more hiding in Texas.
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Yeah, Texas was my 2nd highest applied to state for residency after Florida. Didn’t get my favorite bites and so they ones I did ended up ranked lower.
 
stickgirl390 said:
@fldoctorgirl Have you looked at Texas? I was short 4 programs (trying to get up to 60) and found 14 more hiding in Texas.
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Actually, yes. A good chunk of my OOS programs are Texas ha.

Ho0v-man said:
Maybe it was just rads, but I had a hard time breaking out of the region of my school, even though my hometown was listed on ERAS and I primarily applied to that region. I strongly recommend you look into programs in your school region that you’d like, even if you wouldn’t like the location.

The stupid yield protection is real. As a DO with high stats, low tier programs you’re interested in might not bother and think you’re applying wherever and not really interested. Meanwhile, more competitive programs don’t want a DO. I’ve actually wondered if my interview yield would’ve been higher if I shaved 15 points off my boards.

But hey at least we know sacral rocking so it evens out.
Click to expand...
I am applying to all programs in my med school state (and a couple in the neighboring area) that are decent. It's ~8 programs right now.

I have consistently almost wished my boards were 10-15 points lower in the last few months. Sucks.
 
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