| |
DATES TO HELP YOU
PLAN YOUR SENIOR YEAR
FEBRUARY –
MARCH '08
Class meeting to learn about the Pathway System and scheduling senior
year
-2/8/08 - Class Meeting-
Review Course offerings, begin
planning lottery choices and meet with Pathway Directors
- 2/13/08 On-Line course entry begins at Noon
- 2/27/08 4:00 pm. Deadline for on-line course entry, special needs
form, worksheets (Pathway
Director signature required)
- 3/31/08 Schedules posted on-line.
- 4/08/08 Initial Add/Drop Forms Accepted
- 4/14/08 Initial Confirmation with Clinical Sites
*Note: Timeline is subject to change! CHECK
THIS SITE FOR UPDATES.
Keep the following
in mind when submitting your schedule: Blocks 1, 2, 3 are the best times
to schedule Sub I's or away electives to help you if you are undecided, for letters of recommendations
ETC. Evaluations received before Block 4 will be placed in the Dean's
Letter.
The most ideal time to sit for USMLE Step 2
Clinical Knowledge Exam (CK) is
between July - October (Blocks 1, 2, 3,4).
The Clinical Skills component of Step 2 (CS) should be very
similar to your Clinical Skills Assessment exam. You may wish to take
the CS component of Step 2 before you take the Clinical Knowledge
component. A reasonable timeline to take the CS component would be
late May-September.
If you are
interested in doing an elective out of the country or an Indian Health
Service you need to begin arranging it now.
More
information on international electives is available on this website.
Benefits
of away electives:
1) Compare yourself to other students. 2) Best way to get a feel for
the specialty. 3) May help your residency chances, to see and be seen.
4) May gain you a letter of recommendation from someone outside the
system and in the geographic area in which you are applying. 5) Time
to explore the area in which you are thinking of living/training and
ultimately practicing.
Blocks
3 thru 8 are
good times for away electives to check out residency programs, i.e.
see and be seen. Be careful about doing Audition electives during
prime interview season. You should not miss any time and programs
may not be paying attention to you but the applicants they are
interviewing. There are some differences
in opinions on audition electives: if you don't adapt quickly to a new
environment, some students look better on paper or just in an interview.
A good predictor may be if you are a student who typically gets clinical
honors and high passes.
Letters of Recommendations:
Begin to consider and request faculty letters of recommendations for
residency applications. A sample letter of recommendation request form
can be found on the ERAS or this website at:
http://webcampus.drexelmed.edu/osa/careeradvising/lorcoverus.pdf. Most programs
will ask for 3 to 4 letters of recommendation, including a chairman's
or department’s letter (in the specialty to which you are applying).
It is advisable to request more letters than needed. Letters of recommendation come from the work of your third and fourth
year. ERAS recommendations are sent to Marie Hartman and EARLY MATCH
recommendations are collected by you and sent to the SF Central
Application Service(see CAS instructions for details). Non-ERAS
recommendations are mailed directly to the programs you are
applying to by your letter writers.
MARCH/APRIL '08
"Senior Day”
March 31, time to be announcement. Full day orientation to the residency application
process ERAS/NRMP, Dean’s Letters etc.
Add/drop forms
accepted (4/08/08)
APRIL – JULY '08
Meet with pathway
advisors to discuss programs and applications
Obtain residency
program information. AMA FREIDA Online provides information on nearly
7,500 ACGME-accredited programs and more than 1,600 AMA-GME teaching
institutions, including addresses of the program directors, length of
the programs, and number of positions available:
FREIDA - http://www.ama-assn.org/go/freida
Many institutions
have their own websites. (Check deadlines)
Request Early Match
Registration Information - http://www.sfmatch.org
Request faculty
recommendations. Make note of program deadlines and allow letter writers
at least four-six weeks to complete your letter.
Write Personal
Statement and Curriculum Vitae
(see samples on website)
JULY '08
ERAS is the Electronic
Residency Application Service - http://www.aamc.org/students/eras/start.htm
The MyERAS website opens to applicants on July 1 of each year. You
have two month to work on your application before you can submit it
and transmit it to programs. Residency Programs can start receiving
application via ERAS on September 1.
JULY
– SEPTEMBER ’08
Complete and send
Early Match Application via the Central Application Service (CAS)-PLEASE
CHECK SPECIALTY SPECIFIC DEADLINES Suggested Target Date for Applications
is Mid-August.
Complete and send
ERAS residency applications. ERAS Opens September 1st.
Most ideal time
to sit for USMLE Step 2 CS (You may want to do an easier rotation or a
2 week rotation).
Review transcripts
for accuracy and completion. Complete transcript request form in
Registrar's Office.
Dean's Letter review
begins mid-September. You will receive a letter indicating your letter
is ready for review for a specific five-day period.
Fill out Dean’s
letter request forms
Military interviews
SEPTEMBER
– DECEMBER '08
Most ideal time to sit for USMLE Step 2 CK
(IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THIRD YEAR) You may want to do an easier
rotation or a 2 week rotation.
Early Match Program
interviews (Ophthalmology, Child Neurology, Neurosurgery and
Urology)
OCTOBER
'08
September 15 - October 1,
- Recommended Target Date for having a completed residency application.
(WEST COAST – September 15)
October 1, '08
- Dean's Letter requests must be in by Oct 1, to guarantee Nov 1 mailing
date. Some applications request duplicates of your applications to be
sent with Dean's letter.
October 1 - Final deadline for including 4th year evaluations or other information
in the Dean's Letter.
NOVEMBER
'08 – FEB. '09
Residency Interviews
- (Peak times: December and January)
November 1, '08
-- Dean's letters released
JANUARY
'09 – FEBRUARY '09
Early match results
released
NRMP (R3) - Enter
Rank Order List (ROL) via the Internet
* February 25,
'09 - Last date for NRMP to receive your ROL. Matching starts.
* March 19, '09
- Match Day! General Announcement. Celebration (NOT A RECOMMENDED time
to be out of the country)
* May 15, '09 -
9:00 a.m. Commencement Ceremony! (This date is tentative based on the
availability of a venue)* Tentative dates
ADDITIONAL
TIPS:
MAKE SURE YOUR
LETTER WRITER CAN WRITE YOU A STRONG LETTER. MOST LETTER WRITERS WOULD
DECLINE IF THEY DID NOT FEEL THEY COULD WRITE YOU A STRONG LETTER- IT IS IN YOUR
BEST INTEREST TO BE SURE AND ASK.
iF YOU ARE UNDECIDED OR APPLYING TO A SPECIALTY THAT REQUIRES A
PRELIMINARY YEAR, ASK THAT THE LETTER BE NON-SPECIALTY SPECIFIC. THE
WRITE CAN SAY YOU WITH BE AN EXCELLENT RESIDENT WITHOUT SAYING IN WHAT.
REQUEST EXTRA LETTERS
OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO HAVE AS BACK-UPS.
FOLLOW UP WITH LETTER
WRITERS TO BE SURE YOUR LETTER HAS BEEN SENT.
FOLLOW UP WITH PROGRAMS
TO BE SURE YOUR APPLICATION IS COMPLETE AND ON DECISIONS REGARDING INTERVIEW.
DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING. TAKE THE INITIATIVE; IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
TO ENSURE THAT EVERYTHING IS IN ORDER.
SEEK ADVICE…FROM
THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER/STUDENT AFFAIRS, FACULTY, RESIDENTS & SENIORS.
|
