Program Information
General Residency Application Timeline
The Application
Transcripts
Your Personal Statement
Letters of Recommendation

The American Medical Association's Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database, or FREIDA is a free online resource containing information on more than 8,000 graduate medical education programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and more than 200 combined specialty programs. By defining various selection criteria, you can select a range of programs, or find specific program information.

Individual Residency Program Web sites: The majority of program Web sites list work and call schedules, an overview of residency training, and additional educational environment information. You will also likely find application requirements and deadlines specific to that program.
For each program that you are applying to, you should inquire about:

1. Application deadline
2. The type of individual who should write your letters of recommendation (eg, does the program require an LOR from the chair of the corresponding department on our campus?)
3. Any other unique application requirements

1. ERAS applications: Most UMMSM students participating in the Match will use ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) to apply for residency programs, and match into a program through the NRMP (National Resident Matching Program).
You will be using the MyERAS Web site to complete your application, select your programs, and assign documents to be received by those programs.
MyERAS uses the Common Application Form (CAF), an online, multi-section application.

Along with the CAF, ERAS also transmits the following documents to your programs: letters of recommendation, UMMSM transcript, USMLE transcript, personal statement, your Medical Student Performance Evaluations (MSPE), and your photograph (2 1/2 x 3 1/2).
You can take professional and inexpensive photographs either in the basement of our library, or at Babies R'Us.
Instructions on how to use MyERAS can also be found at http://www.aamc.org/students/eras/usemyeras/start.htm. Registrar, Mary Cotto, will issue your ERAS token, and Ms. Marta Bergez, coordinates the entire ERAS application procedure.

2. SF Match applications: Students applying in ophthalmology and pediatric neurology will apply to programs and match through SF Match. Most SF Match users will use ERAS and the NRMP to apply for and match into their internship year programs. SF Match uses the Central Application Service (CAS) to distribute applications to residency training programs. Applicants will complete one universal application form, gather one copy of each of the appropriate documents, and submit the entire application to Ms. Marta Bergez.
In order to have all of your letters available, students should give ANY letter writer the standard ERAS form, and ask the writers to submit their letters to Marta's office (address is on the cover sheet). Even though the letters will not be going through ERAS, having them sent to the Office of Student Affairs will allow them to be collected on your behalf. Marta will complete your application by supplying your transcript and your letters of recommendation, and will mail the application to CAS.
CAS will process, copy, and distribute your applications to each of the programs that you request. The Office of Student Affairs will send your MSPE to SF Match on October 31, for distribution to your programs.

3. Programs not participating in ERAS or SF Match: Although a specialty may participate in ERAS, some programs within that specialty may not participate. To check if a program is participating in ERAS, view the list of participating programs at http://www.aamc.org/eras.
You should also visit the program's Web site to verify its application procedure and requirements. For programs not participating in ERAS or SF Match, you will need to provide the Office of Student Affairs with a LIST of any programs you may be applying to that are not participating in ERAS or SF Match. The Office of Student Affairs will mail your application out for you, once you have provided all the documents. The MSPE will be sent directly to these programs on October 31.

Your UMMSM transcript will be transmitted to all of your programs through ERAS, or sent with your application if applying to programs not using ERAS.

For EARLY MATCH, your transcript will go out with your application packet PRIOR to the release of your MSPE.
It is extremely important that you review your transcript and your clerkship evaluations. Summaries of your performance on your evaluations will be included in the MSPE, and you need to be aware of everything that has been written about you in your evaluations.

Writing a personal statement can pose a challenge to many medical students. Those who feel they "don't like to write" often find themselves frustrated. BUT, this statement is a useful tool in your application for residency, because it can tell selection committee members about your background, your goals and your character.
A good personal statement can certainly set you up for a great interview, and may help ensure that you match into a program that values the type of person that you are.
While a good statement may not get you in, a bad one can certainly lead to your demise as a candidate. Your statement should NOT simply reiterate why you came to medical school, or restate everything on your CV.
Your personal statement SHOULD include the following key elements:

· WHY you want to go into your chosen SPECIALTY (NOT the practice of medicine).
· Explanation of your commitment to that specialty and the profession (eg., clinical activities, research or special projects that solidified your interest in the field).
· WHAT are YOUR personal characteristics that make YOU well suited for that specialty (include your strenghths that you can offer a program and the specialty).
· WHAT you are looking for in a program, clinically and academically.
· Your future goals and plans within that specialty.


Some writing TIPS:

· Start EARLY!
· Read sample personal statements
· ·Directly state something if you really want to emphasize your point.
· ·Indirectly state it if the direct account sounds too pompous.
· Determine which skills/traits you posses that selection committees are seeking.
· Identify your marketable attributes.
· Identify attributes to emphasize in your personal statement.
· Outline your statement paragraph by paragraph (5 or 6), one page.
· Write a topic sentence for each paragraph.
· Write the first draft:
· ·Use forceful, active, varied, and understandable sentences.
· Get feedback!.
· Attempt to keep this to ONE page, proper grammar.
· ERROR-FREE: Proof and proof again for grammar, spelling, and typos.
· Stand out from the crowd!!.
· Include information not found anywhere else on your application.
· Elaborate on personal issues: life-changing experiences, goals, expectations.
· Communicate your uniqueness to the reader.


Some Pitfalls to Avoid:

· Don't write about why you want to be a DOCTOR.
· Don't tell the specialist why s/he should become that type of doctor - remember this is about YOU, not the SPECIALTIY.
· Don't describe why you did NOT choose OTHER professions.
· Avoid overused cliches.
· Avoid exaggerated words and phrases (always, for as long as I can remember).
· Don't make your statement a prose version of your CV.
· Be wary of sounding too idealistic, lest it be mistaken for you seeming too naive.
· Don't sound too rigid in listing extremely specific career plans.
· Do not criticize other professions or physicians.

Suggested links:

· Careers in Medicine Writing a Personal Statement
· Workshop: Writing a CV & Personal Statement, given by Dr. Hilit Mechaber and Mrs. Joyce Biederman, 4.17.07

Most programs ask for three or four letters of recommendation (LORs).
ERAS can transmit a maximum of four letters. As a rule of thumb, LORs should be written by faculty members with whom you have worked in clinical or research settings. The most important factor in obtaining great letters is in the way you ask faculty to write them.
Consider asking whether the faculty member knows you well enough to write you a STRONG letter of recommendation for a residency position in your field. If they do not, you have given them the option to decline.
Many programs require an LOR from the department chair of the specialty to which you are applying. Realistically, not many chairs know all students; however, they expect to write such letters. They may also have a departmental "designee" write this letter.
In some departments, the chair signs all of the letters, while others have your core clerkship site director write and sign the letter on behalf of the chair.

Your letter writers need advance notice!
The Office of Student Affairs can begin accepting letters of recommendation on July 1 of the year in which you are applying.
Letters intended for ERAS should be mailed to:

Ms. Marta Bergez, Associate Registrar
Office of Student Affairs UMMSM
PO Box 016960, (R-128), Miami, FL 33101

These letters should include the ERAS Cover Sheet, available in ERAS on July 1.
The Office of Student Affairs cannot review letters and pick the best ones for you to send. The letters cannot be released to you at any time in any format. They are the property of the letter writer and not our office.

Waive your right: You should waive your right to see a letter of recommendation. The ERAS Cover Letter includes a waiver and instructs the writer to include a sentence in their letter regarding your decision.
Many program directors see a student's decision not to waive their right to see a letter as a red flag.

Non-ERAS programs: If you are applying to non-ERAS programs, provide your letter writers with the same ERAS letter of recommendation cover sheet, so they can send the letters to Marta Bergez.
You will need to provide the Office of Student Affairs with a LIST of all non-ERAS programs to which you are applying, and Ms. Bergez will compile the letters and send them out, along with your application.