EM PD - Ask Me Anything

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
It won't hurt, but I wouldn't spend a ton of time getting a masters degree thinking that is the key to successfully matching in EM. Get it because you want it, not because it's going to make a huge difference in your residency application.

Besides the knowledge that I would gain from a masters (either MPH or MHS in clinical investigation), would either of these degrees offer any potential advantage in academic EM after residency?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Besides the knowledge that I would gain from a masters (either MPH or MHS in clinical investigation), would either of these degrees offer any potential advantage in academic EM after residency?

Maybe a little. But more so for admin EM I'd imagine.
 
What is egregious? Consistently showing up late, sexual harassment, yelling at a patient/staff, etc. Egregious is not one single person thinking you were rude. If multiple people complained, I'd say you'd have a problem. I would not worry about one single end of shift card comment.

Believe me, you wouldn't believe the stuff I have come across. I know to anyone who is sane, you would say "what medical student would do something crazy like that" but there was a student that showed up and started working wearing scrub bottoms and a sexually suggestive t-shirt when I was a resident (and had to get sent home). I have had students flat out ask how to defraud the hospital out of education stipends. I have had students try to pick up nurses and staff openly while at work. It just amazes me that some people don't get they are auditioning for a job.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
Hello.. i am an img from pakistan in my final year.
Failed ck .. i have a 220 on step1 ... will i ever be able to get into preliminary surgery?
If i apply next year with 240 on ck nd step3 as well.
I just need a shot at prelim surgery to prove that i am capable enough.
 
Hello.. i am an img from pakistan in my final year.
Failed ck .. i have a 220 on step1 ... will i ever be able to get into preliminary surgery?
If i apply next year with 240 on ck nd step3 as well.
I just need a shot at prelim surgery to prove that i am capable enough.

I don't know. Every field is different. It may be better to ask someone in the surgery forum.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I don't know. Every field is different. It may be better to ask someone in the surgery forum.
Thanks for replying.
Since you are in the system ,i thought you might know something or be able to guide.
Thanks anyway
 
Thank you so very much for all your @gamerEMdoc!! This is probably one of the most helpful internet pages on EM stuff..on par with the entire EMRA etc website!

Just one question that has always been in the back of my mind. I know you've always said that any ACGME residency will train you well. What I'm trying to understand that in EM some residencies see more traumas vs. some that don't..so would you say that coming out of a particular residency there would be some EM docs who would be great with procedures (chest tubes, lumbar punctures, lines etc) vs. those that trained in non-trauma heavy residencies. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a huge fan of constant trauma and procedures, I love the EM differential diagnoses and being able to do the 'medicine' side of EM but I do also want to be comfortable enough with procedures. Then there's also the question of if you are really great with procedures you'd be more competitive in the future?

I'm sorry if I'm not able to explain myself correctly..
Thank you again for all your help!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Thanks for replying.
Since you are in the system ,i thought you might know something or be able to guide.
Thanks anyway

No worries, its just that I literally have no idea how other fields choose their candidates. And they definitely don't know how EM chooses theirs (given the bad advice I've heard students get from non-EM folks). It's always best to go to those that are involved in the process for the field you want to match in.

Best of luck!
 
Is it important to fill out the experiences section really well? Or is a 1-sentence concise description what programs are looking for because they don't care too much?

Be more concise, unless its something really big. Nothing makes me stop reading more than when someone has a two paragraph explanation over-hyping every minor volunteer activity they ever participated in. Be brief for the small stuff, and elaborate on the big things / jobs / roles you have had.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Thank you so very much for all your @gamerEMdoc!! This is probably one of the most helpful internet pages on EM stuff..on par with the entire EMRA etc website!

Just one question that has always been in the back of my mind. I know you've always said that any ACGME residency will train you well. What I'm trying to understand that in EM some residencies see more traumas vs. some that don't..so would you say that coming out of a particular residency there would be some EM docs who would be great with procedures (chest tubes, lumbar punctures, lines etc) vs. those that trained in non-trauma heavy residencies. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a huge fan of constant trauma and procedures, I love the EM differential diagnoses and being able to do the 'medicine' side of EM but I do also want to be comfortable enough with procedures. Then there's also the question of if you are really great with procedures you'd be more competitive in the future?

I'm sorry if I'm not able to explain myself correctly..
Thank you again for all your help!!

Oh absolutely. Graduating from an ACGME residency should make you competent. But there are strengths of every residency. But it may not be as simple as you'd think. You may put in more chest tubes in a program with a level 2 where the ED has more of a foothold on trauma than a level 1 where the ED does nothing in the trauma but stand there. It's not as simple as saying "this is a level 1, so I'll get tons of trauma here".

The medicine in residency doesn't change. Sick people are everywhere and that's why I think no matter where you train, you'll be competent when you graduate seeing sick people. Sure, some areas may see more HIV, more trauma, more elderly, more Peds, etc, but for the most part, you are going to see a ton of sick people regardless of where you train. What I think can really vary in programs is procedure numbers (which was probably the most important thing to me in choosing my residency), the business side of EM (which sometimes isn't taught at all but can be VERY important once you get out if you get paid partly by RVUs), things like research where some programs its more checking a box for the ACGME, and some places put a high emphasis on it, etc.

It depends what is important to you when you are looking for a residency. You have the benefit of knowing no matter where you end up, you'll graduate and be competent. But in choosing where you want to go, you weigh what is most important to you (geography, the people/atmosphere, the procedure numbers, a prestigious name, research etc) that help to differentiate the different programs on your list. Everyone values different things.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Thank you so much for that explanation @gamerEMdoc !!

Just one follow-up: what was the reason that procedures were high on your list when you were choosing a residency? Also, in terms of number of shift hours etc. I've heard attendings say that you can't get good training if you are working 8-9hr shifts 5-6 days a week vs. 12hr days. Do you believe the training hours should be extended or do you think it largely depends on the type of person.
 
I've kind of asked this question in the past in regards to letters for ERAS but need a little more clarification. In regards to "Required letters," what does that exactly mean? I've seen you mention that many programs will offer interviews with 1-2 SLOEs so when does the requirement come in to play? Just by rank list time? Seems like most schools have 3 required letters. I'm asking because I will be getting a 3rd SLOE very late but should have 2 by the time interviews start going out. Don't exactly have a good person to ask for a non SLOE letter to temporarily fill this requirement. Thanks!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Thank you so much for that explanation @gamerEMdoc !!

Just one follow-up: what was the reason that procedures were high on your list when you were choosing a residency? Also, in terms of number of shift hours etc. I've heard attendings say that you can't get good training if you are working 8-9hr shifts 5-6 days a week vs. 12hr days. Do you believe the training hours should be extended or do you think it largely depends on the type of person.

I disagree. I dont think its good training to get overworked and working 20 12 hr shifts is just too much in my personal opinion. The sweet spot for me when I was looking for a residency was 9-10 hr shifts, between 18-20 depending on year of residency. Maybe it would be different if it was at a residency where productivity wasnt a big deal, but if you go to a place where you were going to see two patients an hour, it’s pretty brutal doing that 12 hours a day 20 days a month.

As for why I wanted to go to a place with a lot of procedures, it’s because it’s important to know how to do procedures when you’re out on your own. Unless you are going to be practicing in a large university setting, you need to know how to do a lot of procedures. You need to know how to pick a foreign body out of someone’s cornea, reduce the fracture, reduce just about any dislocation, put in a chest tube, get an airway or venous access on trainwreck that comes in the door, do an LP on a 300 lb patient, do an lp on a 6lb neonate, etc. Real life EM is not having a fellow in every subspecialty to bail you out. Its just part of the job to know how to do just about everything because chances are, when something needs to be done RIGHT NOW, you aren’t going to have a specialist coming in to help you out if its considered within your scope of practice.

I trained in a busy community EM program with a subspecialty on call list for just about anything, but almost no one in house other than the other residencies; there were no fellows. No other attendings in house during call, all attending subspecialists were on call at home. It was very similar to my current job. Despite having someone on call, I had to do a lateral canthotomy as a resident bc ophtho couldn’t get there in time. I have been part of a perimortem csection as an attending with another em doc while OB was on their way. Ive opened a chest waiting for trauma to arrive. Did an emergent pericardiocentesis for tamponade. You will deliver babies (one of our attendings delivered breach twins moonlighting in the middle of nowhere). The list goes on and on and anyone who has worked in EM out in the community can tell you, this is just part of our job. Take a look at the procedure book Roberts and Hedges and all the crazy procedures that are in there. That’s an EM textbook; knowing how to do just about any bedside procedure is in our scope of practice and you will be expected to do a ton of procedures without people holding your hand and/or bailing you out. Unfortunately, when you get out, that’s your job to know how to do those procedures because sometimes, somewhere, you just aren’t going to have backup.

Longwinded explaination, but that’s why it was important to me when I trained and why I think its super important to know wherever you go as a resident what the procedural experience is like. Afterall, you can learn what to order on an abdominal pain patient anywhere but if you graduate and can’t hold your own procedurally, you are going to have a tough time adjusting when you enter the community.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Everybody falls asleep in didactics, even the attendings.

True. But residents/attendings already have a job. The student doesn’t and they are at a place trying to make a good impression. I wouldn’t go to an interview and fall asleep there while someone was talking to me, then still expect to get the job. The audition at a place is basically a month long interview and the students can really be under the microscope. So falling asleep during lecture could hurt. It honestly depends on the situation. I personally wouldn’t even mention it if the student was post-night shift, I wouldn’t care. I get that post-nights, its impossible to stay awake during lectures. But if the student was off the day before and just was sleeping at conference because they were bored, I’d absolutely mention that in a SLOE.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I've kind of asked this question in the past in regards to letters for ERAS but need a little more clarification. In regards to "Required letters," what does that exactly mean? I've seen you mention that many programs will offer interviews with 1-2 SLOEs so when does the requirement come in to play? Just by rank list time? Seems like most schools have 3 required letters. I'm asking because I will be getting a 3rd SLOE very late but should have 2 by the time interviews start going out. Don't exactly have a good person to ask for a non SLOE letter to temporarily fill this requirement. Thanks!

2 will be fine to net you interviews. Not many places “require” a 3rd SLOE, but it can be helpful. No one expects you to have 3 SLOEs by mid-September. Many people don’t even have 2 by that point. If you want to have a 3rd one, its reasonable to have it added anytime during interview season.
 
2 will be fine to net you interviews. Not many places “require” a 3rd SLOE, but it can be helpful. No one expects you to have 3 SLOEs by mid-September. Many people don’t even have 2 by that point. If you want to have a 3rd one, its reasonable to have it added anytime during interview season.

So if places list "3 letters required for a completed application" do you think there is a particular time that I need to have all 3 letters? Most programs I'm looking at seem to have this. Just trying to find out if I need to try and obtain a 3rd letter before I would get my last SLOE.
 
How bad is it if you get High Pass in all three 4th year EM rotations? Otherwise both Step scores are around the average, 3rd year grades mix of H, HP and P, decently involved in school activities, SVI is average. How many programs should an applicant like this apply to?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
True. But residents/attendings already have a job. The student doesn’t and they are at a place trying to make a good impression. I wouldn’t go to an interview and fall asleep there while someone was talking to me, then still expect to get the job. The audition at a place is basically a month long interview and the students can really be under the microscope. So falling asleep during lecture could hurt. It honestly depends on the situation. I personally wouldn’t even mention it if the student was post-night shift, I wouldn’t care. I get that post-nights, its impossible to stay awake during lectures. But if the student was off the day before and just was sleeping at conference because they were bored, I’d absolutely mention that in a SLOE.

Ok. It was post night shift.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
So if places list "3 letters required for a completed application" do you think there is a particular time that I need to have all 3 letters? Most programs I'm looking at seem to have this. Just trying to find out if I need to try and obtain a 3rd letter before I would get my last SLOE.

I don't know. That would be an issue for each individual program to decide. All I can tell you is, very few (less than 10%) require 3 SLOEs according to past PD surveys. How many total letters a program wants to see, and when they want to see them by isn't going to be a general consensus. If you are worried, you could always get a LOR from any another non-EM rotation that you did well on so you have a 3rd letter before your 3rd SLOE is uploaded.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
How bad is it if you get High Pass in all three 4th year EM rotations? Otherwise both Step scores are around the average, 3rd year grades mix of H, HP and P, decently involved in school activities, SVI is average. How many programs should an applicant like this apply to?

There is no possible way to answer this question. Because a HP at one place is not the same as a HP at another. A HP from me generally puts you in the top 1/2 of students at least, usually the top 1/3, and typically those students are pretty competitive on our rank list. Some places give 80% honors, 15% HP, 5% pass. So you just can't compare. But on the SLOE, the program has to put the percentage breakdown of the grades they give out, so at that point, you can tell if a HP is a very good student or if a HP is a below average student, etc. Its because of this data as well as the SLOE rank and its statistical breakdown that makes the SLOE so very valuable in terms of gauging how good a student is compared to their peers. You just can't judge an applicants competitiveness or know how many places to apply to without knowing what their application really is like, and that means knowing what the SLOEs are.

Lastly, I get the question about number of places to apply to a lot. I don't remember if it was in this thread or another. But that question really comes down to where you are applying. If you apply strategically, with some safety programs, in a geographic net, most candidates don't have to apply to too many programs. And spamming another 50 programs all across the country is unlikely to really add that many to the interview total. An example. Lets say you are a DO who's permanent address is from MD and went to med school in Ohio. Applying to programs in PA, Ohio, MD, WV and hitting a smattering of former AOA now ACGME programs along with some long shot "dream programs" and you'll likely get enough interviews. But if that same candidate then chooses to apply to every program in the country, the places they get interviews at will likely be the exact same places (PA, Ohio, WV, etc). Just adding 100 programs really doesn't add much to your application, because unless the application is completely stellar, programs are just going to filter that application out by geography alone. So to answer "how many programs should I apply to" it really depends on where you are applying just as much as it does how competitive an applicant you are.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
I got asked by one of the administrators if I would be interested in starting up an EM related "ask me anything" thread, and I was thrilled to get the opportunity. I've answered tons of questions over the past year, but thought this would be a good way of trying to condense down the advice to one thread for people looking for advice in the future.

So if anyone has any burning questions about Emergency Medicine as a specialty, balancing life outside of EM, applying to EM, succeeding on your clerkship's, or any other questions that come to mind, feel free to ask away!

Hi gamerEMdoc! a classmate directed me to this thread because I have a tough situation in need of some guidance...I currently have 2 SLOEs pending with Sept 15 quickly approaching. I am very confident with my first SLOE, my second may not be so strong and I will have a third by the end of this month.

I plan to submit my application on Sept 15 with one LoR from my school EM Department Chair and attach my SLOEs as they are completed.
So...would it be super terrible to not submit my second SLOE given that I don't feel confident with it? thanks so much for your time!
 
Super terrible? No. Its a calculated decision. Depends on what "not so strong" means. If programs look closely at your app they may be able to figure out you are hiding something. If one SLOE says it was your first rotation and the third one correctly states its your third rotation, then someone reading them may rightfully ask, where is the SLOE from your second and they'll have caught you trying to be less than forthcoming. So that's the downside. But if you think its a low 1/3 or a DNR SLOE or have statements that could possibly harm your application, then I'd probably say not submitting it is worth the risk because some people just may not read between the lines that closely. That being said, unless you think its a really bad SLOE, I'd submit it.
 
I have an wide interest in FM/EM, and sports medicine. I dream of living somewhere semi-rural, like outside Portsmouth NH or up in Maine. Ideally I would love to work in a clinic setting seeing patients and providing sports medicine modalities 3-4 days a week while picking up occasional shifts in the ED. My questions are: Do you know how competitive combined residencies are? Is it worth it to do a 5 year residency on top of a 1 year sports medicine fellowship? Since I would be semi-rural, do you imagine me needing EM certification at all, or could I do a FM residency and then just do EM and sports medicine fellowships and save myself a year?

P.S. I'm a DO Student
 
I already have 2 SLOEs uploaded through ERAS and will have a third SLOE by the end of October/early November. Would you recommend I assign 2 SLOEs and a 3rd LOR (not from an EM physician, a sub-surgical specialty) that I know is really strong? Just while I wait for my 3rd SLOE to come in so programs have 3 letters in total from the beginning
 
@gamerEMdoc

On ERAS, there is a question "Do you give your Designated Dean's Office permission to View Your Application Once it Has Been Submitted?" Can residency program leadership see an applicant's answer to this question? Does this kind of become a "Waive your right to see letter" kind of thing?
 
Any recommendations on making tailored personal statements for programs one is super interested in? Or just stick with the general personal statement ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Any recommendations on making tailored personal statements for programs one is super interested in? Or just stick with the general personal statement ?
Not specific to EM, but if there is a specific characteristic/opportunity at a program that is unique and that fits your interests/background, then I think it's reasonable. But changing it just to say "I really love Cleveland and want to train at Cleveland State" is pretty transparent pandering and not worth it. Especially since there's always the chance of you assigning the wrong PS to a program and really looking like a dip**** (which I say because I did it back in the day).
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
LORs/MSPE won't be in until 10/1. Okay to submit ERAS then instead of 9/15?

PD at home school says they don't look until probably after ACEP (which works out for me because I want to check out the residency fair and maybe add on to it.) Another kid in my class is freaking out saying the 1st is too late.
 
LORs/MSPE won't be in until 10/1. Okay to submit ERAS then instead of 9/15?

PD at home school says they don't look until probably after ACEP (which works out for me because I want to check out the residency fair and maybe add on to it.) Another kid in my class is freaking out saying the 1st is too late.
SUBMIT 9/15!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
I have an wide interest in FM/EM, and sports medicine. I dream of living somewhere semi-rural, like outside Portsmouth NH or up in Maine. Ideally I would love to work in a clinic setting seeing patients and providing sports medicine modalities 3-4 days a week while picking up occasional shifts in the ED. My questions are: Do you know how competitive combined residencies are? Is it worth it to do a 5 year residency on top of a 1 year sports medicine fellowship? Since I would be semi-rural, do you imagine me needing EM certification at all, or could I do a FM residency and then just do EM and sports medicine fellowships and save myself a year?

P.S. I'm a DO Student

If you are going to persue Sports Medicine, and want to do EM, then I would do EM followed by a sports medicine fellowship. I'm not sure why you'd want to add FP to that, unless you planned on wanting to do three different things (EM, FP, and Sports Med). FP could be a good backup, an alternative way into Sports Med in which you can still work in some rural EDs, but if your intent is to split time between EM and Sports Med, then I would do EM followed by a Sports Med fellowship.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I already have 2 SLOEs uploaded through ERAS and will have a third SLOE by the end of October/early November. Would you recommend I assign 2 SLOEs and a 3rd LOR (not from an EM physician, a sub-surgical specialty) that I know is really strong? Just while I wait for my 3rd SLOE to come in so programs have 3 letters in total from the beginning

Yeah, I usually tell students to submit 2-3 SLOEs, and fill the other the letters with anyone else who will speak highly of them. Doesn't have to be EM. Usually the non-SLOE letters are from other specialties, or they are from something like EM research.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
LORs/MSPE won't be in until 10/1. Okay to submit ERAS then instead of 9/15?

PD at home school says they don't look until probably after ACEP (which works out for me because I want to check out the residency fair and maybe add on to it.) Another kid in my class is freaking out saying the 1st is too late.

I'd submit in mid-September just to be certain, but honestly, I'm pretty sure you'll be fine waiting until Oct 1. I really doubt many programs are going to be sending anything out before then.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Any recommendations on making tailored personal statements for programs one is super interested in? Or just stick with the general personal statement ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd write one personal statement. Anytime I read a personal statement that says something about wanting to train at my specific hospital, I roll my eyes. No student in their right mind would send that statement out to all the programs they applied to, which means they are just changing the name of the hospital for each program they apply to. It really makes you look not genuine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
If you are going to persue Sports Medicine, and want to do EM, then I would do EM followed by a sports medicine fellowship. I'm not sure why you'd want to add FP to that, unless you planned on wanting to do three different things (EM, FP, and Sports Med). FP could be a good backup, an alternative way into Sports Med in which you can still work in some rural EDs, but if your intent is to split time between EM and Sports Med, then I would do EM followed by a Sports Med fellowship.

Just out of curiosity, what do you envision the schedule of someone who does both jobs to look like? If I did part time in both regards, I obviously couldn't do night shifts followed by a day shift in a sports medicine clinic.. so how would one split up the time you believe?
 
Just out of curiosity, what do you envision the schedule of someone who does both jobs to look like? If I did part time in both regards, I obviously couldn't do night shifts followed by a day shift in a sports medicine clinic.. so how would one split up the time you believe?

I'll chime in because I recently spoke to someone who did this in an academic setting. They would do 2 sports clinics a week (think Tues and Thursday) and then 8 ED shifts a month. Usually during the work week (ex M and W) and always morning/mid morning shifts. Said they hadn't worked a night shift since residency. Would have to work one weekend a month but seemed like this was flexible (do two one month, none the next). Some additional event coverage added in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
I'll chime in because I recently spoke to someone who did this in an academic setting. They would do 2 sports clinics a week (think Tues and Thursday) and then 8 ED shifts a month. Usually during the work week (ex M and W) and always morning/mid morning shifts. Said they hadn't worked a night shift since residency. Would have to work one weekend a month but seemed like this was flexible (do two one month, none the next). Some additional event coverage added in.

I would say this person is quite lucky with that set up. I know an academic EM/Sports guy as well with similar clinic, but he doesn't magically get out of nights because they're sports. It doesn't benefit the EM group at all so there's no incentive for them to not put you on nights.
 
I'd write one personal statement. Anytime I read a personal statement that says something about wanting to train at my specific hospital, I roll my eyes. No student in their right mind would send that statement out to all the programs they applied to, which means they are just changing the name of the hospital for each program they apply to. It really makes you look not genuine.
Great thanks!
one more question: i have 2 SLOEs that i was told i got "honors" on. i also have an LOR from an EM physician for a year of research in EM that i did between MS3-MS4. Is it worth also submitting a solid LOR from my internal medicine sub-I to make it 3 EM letters and one non-EM letter? thanks!
 
Does it look bad if the non EM letter writer doesn't know you are doing EM and writes it as if you are doing their specialty instead?
 
Just out of curiosity, what do you envision the schedule of someone who does both jobs to look like? If I did part time in both regards, I obviously couldn't do night shifts followed by a day shift in a sports medicine clinic.. so how would one split up the time you believe?

I don't know. You'd probably want to ask someone who has done this in the past, probably someone in a sports medicine fellowship. I'd imagine it would be something where you had a clinic 3 days a week then worked a few shifts in the ED in a given month.
 
Great thanks!
one more question: i have 2 SLOEs that i was told i got "honors" on. i also have an LOR from an EM physician for a year of research in EM that i did between MS3-MS4. Is it worth also submitting a solid LOR from my internal medicine sub-I to make it 3 EM letters and one non-EM letter? thanks!

Sure, unless you have another SLOE coming in later in the season. If not, submit the IM LOR.
 
Does it look bad if the non EM letter writer doesn't know you are doing EM and writes it as if you are doing their specialty instead?

Depends. Everyone understands that sometimes students are initially deciding between two fields. But I do get concerned when someone is president of the ortho club, did ortho research, then submits a LOR that says he/she is going to make a good orthopedist. Immediately I assume that person is applying to EM as a backup.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
To follow up on the required letters question, do most programs filter out incomplete applications? since most programs require 3 letters, if I only submit 2 (1 SLOE, 1 EM LOR) while waiting on my last SLOE is there a good chance my application won't even get looked at until that 3rd letter comes and my application is marked complete? I don't really have a relevant non EM letter to submit as a placeholder while I wait for my last SLOE, but also don't want to be passed over as incomplete by only submitting 2 letters initially. Sorry, I know we're starting to beat a dead horse with this question, just want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot by initially submitting an incomplete application!
 
To follow up on the required letters question, do most programs filter out incomplete applications? since most programs require 3 letters, if I only submit 2 (1 SLOE, 1 EM LOR) while waiting on my last SLOE is there a good chance my application won't even get looked at until that 3rd letter comes and my application is marked complete? I don't really have a relevant non EM letter to submit as a placeholder while I wait for my last SLOE, but also don't want to be passed over as incomplete by only submitting 2 letters initially. Sorry, I know we're starting to beat a dead horse with this question, just want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot by initially submitting an incomplete application!

I'll follow this one up as well because I had asked this question and ended up emailing a program directly at his suggestion. They told me that all 3 letters were not required at time of initial application and they understand people are still doing rotations. They said just needed to have all 3 by the time of consideration in January-ish. Can't speak for any other programs but this was a competitive one and I would think this is the prevailing practice. Ultimately everyone is in the same situation and theres only so many away spots so there's probably only a small minority who would have 3 letters by this point anyways.

It seems obvious but it's annoying the way the websites are worded which basically say "You need 3 letters for a completed application and after you application is complete we will review it." But it seems that is definitely not the case.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I got asked by one of the administrators if I would be interested in starting up an EM related "ask me anything" thread, and I was thrilled to get the opportunity. I've answered tons of questions over the past year, but thought this would be a good way of trying to condense down the advice to one thread for people looking for advice in the future.

So if anyone has any burning questions about Emergency Medicine as a specialty, balancing life outside of EM, applying to EM, succeeding on your clerkship's, or any other questions that come to mind, feel free to ask away!


Hi! Im not sure if you're still taking questions but I came across this thread and thought it was worth a shot.. Im a 3rd year DO student very interested in applying EM. It has been my sole source of interest and focus for the last year or 2. Anyway I'm worried because I had to remediate a course in my first semester of M1. It was genetics, a 1 credit course. I failed because a car slid into me on the highway (in the snow) and I was late for a quiz that was 15% of my grade. My school has a zero tolerance policy and I shouldve left for the quiz earlier. I was wondering if this completely screws me for competitive EM residency programs. This has been a really difficult thought to bear. I ranked middle high of my class and had ZERO other academic difficulty. Scored a 240 on Step 1 and a 600 on COMLEX. Extracurriculars etc.

Thanks for your helo
 
Hi! Im not sure if you're still taking questions but I came across this thread and thought it was worth a shot.. Im a 3rd year DO student very interested in applying EM. It has been my sole source of interest and focus for the last year or 2. Anyway I'm worried because I had to remediate a course in my first semester of M1. It was genetics, a 1 credit course. I failed because a car slid into me on the highway (in the snow) and I was late for a quiz that was 15% of my grade. My school has a zero tolerance policy and I shouldve left for the quiz earlier. I was wondering if this completely screws me for competitive EM residency programs. This has been a really difficult thought to bear. I ranked middle high of my class and had ZERO other academic difficulty. Scored a 240 on Step 1 and a 600 on COMLEX. Extracurriculars etc.

Thanks for your helo

Don't worry about it! Some competitive programs still have a DO bias which will potentially be the bigger roadblock than the tiny blip in first year. Can I ask why you're interested in competitive programs? Is it a geographical thing or a prestige thing?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Don't worry about it! Some competitive programs still have a DO bias which will potentially be the bigger roadblock than the tiny blip in first year. Can I ask why you're interested in competitive programs? Is it a geographical thing or a prestige thing?


I shouldve been clearer. What I really want most is just to be an ER doc. Ill get there whatever way I can and am most on edge that I may have screwed up my chances at my dream because of genetics / a stupid fender bender.... that being said I AM interested in more competitive programs simply because I want to be the best doc I can be and just love the look of some of the programs I've researched.

Just trying to find resources and do everything I can to maximize my application.
 
Edited for clarity - I looked to see if this has been asked here before and as far as I can tell it hasn't, apologies if I am repeating a question:

Is it accurate that you cannot assign letters that aren't uploaded by the letter writer? I.e. I have my home SLOE available and uploaded, so no doubt I can assign that when I submit this week. But, my first away SLOE won't be available until October, I've been told to assign it now and it will automatically get sent to programs when it's uploaded but I don' think that's accurate?
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top