Description of work/volunteer/research in Experience tab ERAS

[CD15]

From few other related posts I understand that these descriptions need to be succinct.

My question is how succinct?
1. How many lines maximum?
2. What should be the content?
3. What is the most essential thing that needs to mentioned?
4. What are the things that should not be mentioned?

I am assuming that the fonts, page layout would be identical to that for the PS
i.e. Courier New, 11, line spacing = 1, letter page size with 0.8" top bottom margins and 0.3" right left margins.

I am asking this to avoid common mistakes which applicants make which program directors probably find annoying or boring.
I have several work, volunteer and research experiences and do not want to bore the program director or anyone who would be reading my CAF

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[mcl]

From few other related posts I understand that these descriptions need to be succinct.

My question is how succinct?
1. How many lines maximum?
2. What should be the content?
3. What is the most essential thing that needs to mentioned?
4. What are the things that should not be mentioned?

I am assuming that the fonts, page layout would be identical to that for the PS
i.e. Courier New, 11, line spacing = 1, letter page size with 0.8" top bottom margins and 0.3" right left margins.

I am asking this to avoid common mistakes which applicants make which program directors probably find annoying or boring.
I have several work, volunteer and research experiences and do not want to bore the program director or anyone who would be reading my CAF

Don't overthink this. There is no magic formula. Give a little context and a brief description of your experience: You provided blood pressure screening at an annual health fair, or took H&Ps at a student-run clinic for the underserved twice a month as an MS3, etc.

I looked back at a few applications, and unless the applicant was describing a complex research project, the descriptions were generally no more than a sentence or two. But those sentences helped me get a better sense of the person behind the application.

You don't need to worry about fonts and margins for the CAF.

 

[CD15]

My descriptions are close to a paragraph if not more

 

[Doctor Bob]

My descriptions are close to a paragraph if not more

Oh goodness, that's a little too long.

 

[not so calm now]

Paid, full time research assistant/tech position (resulting in co-authorship): list it as research or work experience?

 

[gutonc]

Paid, full time research assistant/tech position (resulting in co-authorship): list it as research or work experience?

Pick one. I say research.

 

[prometheus09]

Yea, my experience descriptions were only one sentence long.

 

[kwel]

What is the format in which PDs review your app? do they just print out the CV format or something? Just wanted something to look at for reference in terms of formatting what I write

Also, every time I put a hard return in my entries (for example if I'm trying to do a bullet-point list) it doesn't show up as a hard return when I view it in CV format.... just gets lumped into one paragraph. Is this happening with everyone? Any solution?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Do not try to force formatting. It will fail.

Do not try to make bullet lists. It will also fail.

Do not include HTML tags to bypass ERAS limitations on formatting. They look really dumb when we print your application and are no longer rendered.

 

[kwel]

Do not try to force formatting. It will fail.

Do not try to make bullet lists. It will also fail.

Do not include HTML tags to bypass ERAS limitations on formatting. They look really dumb when we print your application and are no longer rendered.

Thanks. So would your recommendation be to just lump it all into one paragraph (this is mostly an issue when I talk about my research experiences since I have a fair amount to say about them)? And for the stuff that would really lend itself to bullet lists (awards/honors), should I just write it out in a list separated by commas/semicolons?

I don't mind doing all that, I just didn't want it to look tacky/unpolished

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Sounds totally reasonable. Plus it's your only choice.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Thanks. So would your recommendation be to just lump it all into one paragraph (this is mostly an issue when I talk about my research experiences since I have a fair amount to say about them)? And for the stuff that would really lend itself to bullet lists (awards/honors), should I just write it out in a list separated by commas/semicolons?

I don't mind doing all that, I just didn't want it to look tacky/unpolished

I don't know about your specific projects, but again, I think it is unlikely that you really need a full paragraph. You don't need to talk about the nitty-gritty details on your application, as the odds that the person reading your application will care about your particular project are very low--you just need to show them that what you did was meaningful and you got something out of it. The general formula I used was "This is what we did, and this is what I personally contributed. This is what we found. Here are any presentations/publications that came out of this." If anyone really wants to know the nitty-gritty they will ask you in an interview.

 

[maggie08]

Where are you guys putting leadership/student organization activities? The only place i could think of is in the volunteer section...

But I feel a little weird about this, since most of the organization existed just to serve itself. Not really helping anyone... Plus I kinda feel like it detracts from my "real" volunteer activities.

Is this what everyone's doing? Or does it go elsewhere?

 

[kwel]

Where are you guys putting leadership/student organization activities? The only place i could think of is in the volunteer section...

But I feel a little weird about this, since most of the organization existed just to serve itself. Not really helping anyone... Plus I kinda feel like it detracts from my "real" volunteer activities.

Is this what everyone's doing? Or does it go elsewhere?

From the ERAS app:

"Include Clinical and Teaching experience as work experiences, include all unpaid extra-curricular activities and committees you have served on as volunteer experiences "

I assume putting it as volunteer experience is OK

 

[drmindylahiri]

How much extra-curricular or volunteer experience from college should we include? Should we not include any from college?

 

[CajunMD]

What if we held different positions for a particular group. For instance, I founded a group, then was president, and then held a couple of other positions during 3rd and 4th year. Where do you put positions held?

Also, what if as president, one took on big projects... Should those projects get its own new 'volunteer experience' or should you lump it all together. For instance, I started an alumni directory at our school as president of a group, organized a career planning day with over 100 participants etc. Should that just go in the description?

Seems like it should all be lumped together. However, if a few sentences are appropriate for descriptions, then it seems like individual projects will be overlooked... or maybe they don't matter lol

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

What are you all writing under "reason for leaving"?

 

[Rebs28]

What are you all writing under "reason for leaving"?

I'm wondering this too, and thinking of just leaving these sections blank.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

I'm wondering this too, and thinking of just leaving these sections blank.

I decided to leave it blank, too.

 

[osumc2014]

Can I put in current research that I just started? No publications or anything yet.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

Can I put in current research that I just started? No publications or anything yet.

You do not have to have publications or presentations to list research at all. Lots of research is formative training and either gets no presentations or publications or does so months or years after the research experience is over.

 

[osumc2014]

You do not have to have publications or presentations to list research at all. Lots of research is formative training and either gets no presentations or publications or does so months or years after the research experience is over.

So you are saying it's worth listing this research? I would have only a few weeks of work done by interviews. I have 3 other past research experiences with publications.

 

[mcl]

So you are saying it's worth listing this research? I would have only a few weeks of work done by interviews. I have 3 other past research experiences with publications.

List it: a) if it's a project you would be able to talk about if the interviewer asks about it, and b) if it's important to you that you show ongoing research interests/abilities.

 

[Sir Gillies]

I have a question related to research.

I have done 12 research projects whilst being a student or working as a doctor, therefore it wasn't a research position per se. How should I describe them?
- should I describe each individual project?
- what shall I write under "position", "reason for leaving"
- should the research that I have listed under publication, also be included under research experience?

Thank you very much for your help!

 

[SJSM001]

I have a question related to research.

I have done 12 research projects whilst being a student or working as a doctor, therefore it wasn't a research position per se. How should I describe them?
- should I describe each individual project?
- what shall I write under "position", "reason for leaving"
- should the research that I have listed under publication, also be included under research experience?

Thank you very much for your help!

Sort of wondering about this also- say during one research period I simultaneously worked on 4-5 projects. This should be one research experience, and just mention them all I the description, yes? Or separate them out?

 

[Doctor Bob]

Sort of wondering about this also- say during one research period I simultaneously worked on 4-5 projects. This should be one research experience, and just mention them all I the description, yes? Or separate them out?

If you worked on all of these projects as part of a research block then just mention the research block and in the description you can say you worked on 4-5 projects.

I have done 12 research projects whilst being a student or working as a doctor, therefore it wasn't a research position per se. How should I describe them?
- should I describe each individual project?
- what shall I write under "position", "reason for leaving"
- should the research that I have listed under publication, also be included under research experience?

If it's listed in the publication section you don't need to include it in the research experience. If it didn't generate a publication then under position put "medical student" or whatever you were during that time. Reason for leaving is "project completed".

Present the information without being redundant or appearing to pad. Beyond that there is no "correct" way and no "I'm-going-to-throw-your-application-in-the-trash-now" way.

 

[lifetime]

1) What should I write as "position" if I'm volunteering at a free clinic? Should I write "medical student"?

2) Should I add my summer jobs while in undergrad under work experience? (the job is totally unrelated to medicine). I think it'll "fill" the application since I don't have much else to add like research/pubs

 

[Rebs28]

For free clinic work, I listed the position as medical student volunteer.

I wouldn't include the undergrad jobs, but maybe that's just me.

 

[1dayatatime]

Revising an old thread.
@aProgDirector
@gutonc
People who's opinion I value. Thanks in advance!

I'm just going to leave my description blank for Free Clinic volunteering, is that ok? I figured it's kinda obvious what I did (collected H&Ps, presented to attendings, wrote notes, occasionally a pap smear). DO I need to state the population that I served (i.e. indigent, ethnicity, etc)? It already says on ERAS which city the clinic was in.

Also when I copy/pasted bullets from Microscoft word into ERAS, then clicked "View my cv" and "view my ERAS" app, they appeared normal (just like in my word document). Is it not safe to assume that that's what you'd see when you dl my app?

 

[mvenus929]

It's probably worth putting a description, because not all free clinics are the same. At the one near my med school, med students couldn't interview patients as in a typical clinic, because that's not how it was set up. But the ones who had been CNAs could take vitals, the ones who work as pharmacy techs could help dispense medications, and those with no prior training could do intake information or exit counseling.

 

[1dayatatime]

Oh i didn't realize that, thank you!

 

[PrairieJay]

Revising an old thread.
@aProgDirector
@gutonc
People who's opinion I value. Thanks in advance!

I'm just going to leave my description blank for Free Clinic volunteering, is that ok? I figured it's kinda obvious what I did (collected H&Ps, presented to attendings, wrote notes, occasionally a pap smear). DO I need to state the population that I served (i.e. indigent, ethnicity, etc)? It already says on ERAS which city the clinic was in.

Also when I copy/pasted bullets from Microscoft word into ERAS, then clicked "View my cv" and "view my ERAS" app, they appeared normal (just like in my word document). Is it not safe to assume that that's what you'd see when you dl my app?

I'm also very interested in finding out about bullets. They make my app look shuper sharp.