Listing Clerkship "honors" on CV?

[Ceusina]

I'm putting together my CV to give to my letter writers. In some of the sample CVs I've read, people listed clerkship honors under the "Honors and Awards" category on their CV... is this advisable? This CV is ONLY for my letter writers. I will not list clerkship honors on my ERAS application/CV.

Any advice?

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[Wordead]

I've never heard of this, but it sounds desperate and pathetic in my opinion.

 

[deleted480308]

+1 to sounding desperate

 

[Ceusina]

Haha, I agree, it sounds kinda desperate.

Just to re-iterate, I would NOT list clerkship honors as honors on ERAS... the point of this CV is only for letter writers to "get to know me" a little more. Would they like to know what rotations (other than theirs) I've "honored?" I had two preceptors recently offer to write me letters of recommendation (one of them is a kinda big name program director)... I'd like to take them up on their offer, and have them write the letter while I'm still fresh in their mind, but may or may not use their letters, based on the letters I get in 4th year sub-Is.

 

[Psai]

are you going to put your little league trophy for participation under awards too?

 

[chronicidal]

I've seen it listed under education. I don't think it's desperate. It gives letter writers important information about your application without you having to give them a copy of your transcript.

For example:

Best Medical School, Ballstown, MN
-MD candidate, anticipated 2016
-Honors in Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, and Neurology clerkships

 

[Jabbed]

I've seen it listed under education. I don't think it's desperate. It gives letter writers important information about your application without you having to give them a copy of your transcript.

For example:

Best Medical School, Ballstown, MN
-MD candidate, anticipated 2016
-Honors in Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, and Neurology clerkships

I agree. In that capacity I don't see how it's much different than reporting your GPA or board scores on a CV.

 

[Psai]

I agree. In that capacity I don't see how it's much different than reporting your GPA or board scores on a CV.

people do that?

 

[Jabbed]

people do that?

Fairly commonplace for letter of rec CVs.

 

[Dave89]

Please don't list these on your actual CV.

But, as Jabbed mentioned, it's useful to include (good) grades when sending your CV to letter writers.

 

[Wordead]

Haha, I agree, it sounds kinda desperate.

Just to clarify, I would NOT list clerkship honors as honors on ERAS... the point of this CV is only for letter writers to "get to know me" a little more. Would they like to know what rotations (other than theirs) I've "honored?" I had two preceptors recently offer to write me letters of recommendation (one of them is a kinda big name program director)... I'd like to take them up on their offer, and have them write the letter while I'm still fresh in their mind, but may or may not use their letters, based on the letters I get in 4th year sub-Is.

Yes I had a separate section with all my clinical grades for LOR requests.

 

[operaman]

I put it on mine for my letter writers. I would probably leave it off a regular CV and I did not put it under honors on ERAS since it was already on my transcript, but I think it definitely has a place. It's really your call whether to include it under "education" near your degree; many people include their GPA or latin honors with their undergraduate info so I think it's not out of place to include something similar with your medical degree. I put mine under "honors and awards" because it kept the formatting more even, but that was more an aesthetic choice than anything else.

I would only caution that if you put it, people will assume you did not earn honors in your other clerkships, so keep that in mind.

 

[Donald Juan]

I would only caution that if you put it, people will assume you did not earn honors in your other clerkships, so keep that in mind.

...wouldn't that be exactly the case? I mean, if you did earn honors in your "other" clerkships, wouldn't you just list them with your list of clerkships you honored?

 

[Nymphicus]

I think he is pointing out if you got 1 or 2 honored vs all honors then it may stick out that you mostly didn't honor but if you don't put anything they may not know or care.

 

[operaman]

...wouldn't that be exactly the case? I mean, if you did earn honors in your "other" clerkships, wouldn't you just list them with your list of clerkships you honored?

Yeah, I meant if you only honored X clerkships and list them, readers will rightfully assume you did not honor Y clerkships. Depending on how many you honor and which ones they are, it may be better not to call attention to it.

 

[alpinism]

I'm putting together my CV to give to my letter writers. In some of the sample CVs I've read, people listed clerkship honors under the "Honors and Awards" category on their CV... is this advisable?

Also, my school doesn't give "honors," but A, B, C grades for our pre-clinical and clerkship grades... (which makes it seem very "undergrad-ish") So in my case, I'd list the clerkships I got As in... would this be weird? Finally, I have literally no idea what percentage of my classmates is awarded an A in each clerkship. Our grade is determined numerically (90% and up = A)... 70% of the grade comes from our preceptor, 30% of our grade comes from our shelf exam. So, it's not likely only the top 10% is awarded an A... like how some schools do "honors."

Any advice?

Lol

I don't think they understand what the category "honors and awards" means...

Getting an honors grade in a med school course is not the same thing as receiving an honor. They're 2 completely different things.

Things that belong in that category include AOA, Dean's list, scholarships, research awards/honors (best poster/presentation at x conference), school awards/honors (top student in x class), work awards/honors (employee of the month or year), volunteering awards/honors (x years of service award, top fundraiser), yada yada. Not school grades.

Not only does it look desperate but it also shows a lack of social/professional awareness which depending on the reader could be easily interpreted as naiveté or stupidity.

...just my opinion though.

Besides, there's no need to include grades on your CV since programs will get your transcript through ERAS. Beyond residency/fellowship no one cares about your medical school grades anyhow.

 

[seminoma]

Fairly commonplace for letter of rec CVs.

Just so it's clear for everyone, the CV you submit when you are requesting a letter of rec is not necessarily the same one you submit for other things. Some letter writers want to know your academic performance so they can integrate it into their letter.

 

[Ceusina]

Just so it's clear for everyone, the CV you submit when you are requesting a letter of rec is not necessarily the same one you submit for other things. Some letter writers want to know your academic performance so they can integrate it into their letter.

Yeah, that's the purpose of this CV... just a way for my letters writers to know more about me and my academic performance. The CV I'm working on now will only been seen by my letter writers... I have no intention of listing clerkship honors under "honors and awards" on ERAS.

I put it on mine for my letter writers. I would probably leave it off a regular CV and I did not put it under honors on ERAS since it was already on my transcript, but I think it definitely has a place. It's really your call whether to include it under "education" near your degree; many people include their GPA or latin honors with their undergraduate info so I think it's not out of place to include something similar with your medical degree. I put mine under "honors and awards" because it kept the formatting more even, but that was more an aesthetic choice than anything else.

I like the idea of putting it under "education" on my CV. Thanks for the idea! I'll see if that formatting works.

 

[Doctor Bob]

Don't.... just don't.

The letter writers who need to attest to your scholarly ability (department chairs at your school, etc), will have access to your transcript.
The rest don't need to attest to your scholarly ability in other rotations.

"MedStudent X did very well in the ICU. I see from their CV that they also did well in OB, Peds, and psychiatry. Bully for them."

Your average attending is going to write about you, and what you did on their rotation. They're going to attest to what they actually saw. Sure we toss in some other tidbits from the CV for flavor (to make it look like we know you a lot better than we actually do), but we don't talk about what you did the rest of the year from an academic standpoint.

 

[colbgw02]

Don't.... just don't.

The letter writers who need to attest to your scholarly ability (department chairs at your school, etc), will have access to your transcript.
The rest don't need to attest to your scholarly ability in other rotations.

"MedStudent X did very well in the ICU. I see from their CV that they also did well in OB, Peds, and psychiatry. Bully for them."

Your average attending is going to write about you, and what you did on their rotation. They're going to attest to what they actually saw. Sure we toss in some other tidbits from the CV for flavor (to make it look like we know you a lot better than we actually do), but we don't talk about what you did the rest of the year from an academic standpoint.

TITCR

Residency programs will have - wait for it - your actual grades and board scores. They don't want or need to hear about those things in your letters. Your LORs are intended to speak toward your attributes that aren't discernible except by someone who has worked directly with you. I mean, if the author requests information, then you should provide it, but if you're getting a letter that talks about your grades and board scores, then you're getting a crappy letter.

 

[Kaustikos]

Why not just put your entire application on there, then? One document means less papers to read. Yay!