Applying to Multiple Residency Specialties : Tips and Basics
As I write this post, it is that magical American summer time again and I can hardly contain my excitement about my upcoming trip to the rich green forests of Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, with all those wooden forest cabins, rafting and chopper-rides. When you guys get your residencies and happen to take a break there, make sure you think of me ;-) Maybe I will post a few pictures of my mini-vacation, if those are worth it...
Keeping the Smokys aside for now, let's go over a few quick questions on the matter at hand:
Q. Dude...First of all, can we even apply to multiple specialties using ERAS ?
A. Yes you can ! There are three main reasons why candidates would apply to different speciaties:
a. They are not decided at the time of application
b. Applying to other specialties as a 'backup'. (e.g.: Internal Medicine candidates often apply to Family medicine as a backup)
c. Because specialties that need pre-requisite prelim years, which
not all programs will have, will necessitate the candidate to apply to not only the specific specialty but also prelim medicine or Surgery programs that are a pre-requisite.
Q. Will the Residency Program Directors know that we applied to other specialties ?
A. No, the ERAS program does not allow program directors to find out that you applied to other specialties - forget that - they wouldn't even know how many programs and which programs you apply even for the same specialty ! Having said that, of course there is that slight chance that program directors of different specialties at the same hospital / university discuss your excellent application and realize they are talking of the same guy/gal..lol
Q. Will I be allowed to send different Personal statements and Different Letters of Recommendation to different specialties I apply to ?
A. Yes - In fact you are allowed to have a separate customized Personal Statement for each program (highly recommended) and a different set of LORs for each program too. Unfortunately, though, you can only have one common application form - Read below.
Now, here are some points to note:
1. While ERAS is magnanimous enough to allow you apply to as many specialties as you like, there's a catch - the SAME Common Application Form (CAF) application will be sent to each of those specialties - of course you can send different Letters of Recommendation and different Personal Statement, your 'resume' that the programs will receive in the form of CAF, will remain the same. So let's say, you concentrated on applying to Pathology and made your resume look perfect for Pathology with pathology observerships, pathology research, etc. it may look wierd for Internal medicine and you cannot hide it from them!
[Personally I feel it is unfair that candidates are not allowed to restructure their resumes as per the specialties - I mean even when we apply for regular jobs, we customize the resume to highlight the job-specific strengths, don't we ? Hmmmm]
2. The Common Application Form, once submitted, cannot be changed ! Which means, after applying to a specialty, if you decide on applying to additional specialty, you CANNOT alter the CAF to customize it for the second specialty :-(
3. This does not mean that you are totally disadvantaged. Use the Personal Statement to explain the experience in the 'other specialty' and how it helped you for the specialty you are applying for. For example, guys with Internal medicine observerships applying to psychiatry as a backup could write on their personal statements how the personal connection with the patients you encountered and the impact of the illness on their perceived happiness and quality of life has drawn you psychiatry..something like that - gotta use your imagination here ;-)
4. Speaking of applying for backups - I often note how IMGs await interview calls from their main specialty of interest...and when calls don't seem to come, they hit the panic button and apply to their backup specialty in late November - which is not strategic ! Coz' the same Applying on September principle applies to the backup specialty too...
Moral of this post:
1. Applying to multiple specialties is allowed
2. It would probably would be to your advantage to apply to related specialties.
3. Use the personal statement to explain the connection of those disconnected thingies on your resume
4. Apply for backup specialties the same time you apply for your main specialty and do so very early in September :-)
5. Smoky Mountains is a great vacation place..LOL
Keeping the Smokys aside for now, let's go over a few quick questions on the matter at hand:
Q. Dude...First of all, can we even apply to multiple specialties using ERAS ?
A. Yes you can ! There are three main reasons why candidates would apply to different speciaties:
a. They are not decided at the time of application
b. Applying to other specialties as a 'backup'. (e.g.: Internal Medicine candidates often apply to Family medicine as a backup)
c. Because specialties that need pre-requisite prelim years, which
not all programs will have, will necessitate the candidate to apply to not only the specific specialty but also prelim medicine or Surgery programs that are a pre-requisite.Q. Will the Residency Program Directors know that we applied to other specialties ?
A. No, the ERAS program does not allow program directors to find out that you applied to other specialties - forget that - they wouldn't even know how many programs and which programs you apply even for the same specialty ! Having said that, of course there is that slight chance that program directors of different specialties at the same hospital / university discuss your excellent application and realize they are talking of the same guy/gal..lol
Q. Will I be allowed to send different Personal statements and Different Letters of Recommendation to different specialties I apply to ?
A. Yes - In fact you are allowed to have a separate customized Personal Statement for each program (highly recommended) and a different set of LORs for each program too. Unfortunately, though, you can only have one common application form - Read below.
Now, here are some points to note:
1. While ERAS is magnanimous enough to allow you apply to as many specialties as you like, there's a catch - the SAME Common Application Form (CAF) application will be sent to each of those specialties - of course you can send different Letters of Recommendation and different Personal Statement, your 'resume' that the programs will receive in the form of CAF, will remain the same. So let's say, you concentrated on applying to Pathology and made your resume look perfect for Pathology with pathology observerships, pathology research, etc. it may look wierd for Internal medicine and you cannot hide it from them!
[Personally I feel it is unfair that candidates are not allowed to restructure their resumes as per the specialties - I mean even when we apply for regular jobs, we customize the resume to highlight the job-specific strengths, don't we ? Hmmmm]
2. The Common Application Form, once submitted, cannot be changed ! Which means, after applying to a specialty, if you decide on applying to additional specialty, you CANNOT alter the CAF to customize it for the second specialty :-(
3. This does not mean that you are totally disadvantaged. Use the Personal Statement to explain the experience in the 'other specialty' and how it helped you for the specialty you are applying for. For example, guys with Internal medicine observerships applying to psychiatry as a backup could write on their personal statements how the personal connection with the patients you encountered and the impact of the illness on their perceived happiness and quality of life has drawn you psychiatry..something like that - gotta use your imagination here ;-)
4. Speaking of applying for backups - I often note how IMGs await interview calls from their main specialty of interest...and when calls don't seem to come, they hit the panic button and apply to their backup specialty in late November - which is not strategic ! Coz' the same Applying on September principle applies to the backup specialty too...
Moral of this post:
1. Applying to multiple specialties is allowed
2. It would probably would be to your advantage to apply to related specialties.
3. Use the personal statement to explain the connection of those disconnected thingies on your resume
4. Apply for backup specialties the same time you apply for your main specialty and do so very early in September :-)
5. Smoky Mountains is a great vacation place..LOL
Labels: ERAS Applications, Specialty Discussions
 |
Is this Blog one of the best things to happen to you ? Then How Bout Automatic Spam-free USMLEtoMD Updates on Email ? |
| Digg This | | Share on Facebook | | del.icio.us |
posted by Digitaldoc, MD at 9:29 PM
Comments on "Applying to Multiple Residency Specialties : Tips and Basics"
-
Anonymous said ... (September 23, 2007 7:54 PM) :
-
Digitaldoc, MD said ... (September 23, 2007 8:20 PM) :
-
sashank said ... (October 18, 2007 11:31 PM) :
-
Digitaldoc, MD said ... (October 19, 2007 12:19 AM) :
Post Your Comment !digidoc thanks for all the help on the match thru your blog..i have a question though we can apply to diff specialties ....at the time of the match can we submit three rols for the three diff specialties we interviewed for.and then if we match in all three wil we be able to withdraw from thw other two specialties.
Even for multiple specialties, You only Create one rank order list (ROL) which can be a mix for different specialties, as per your preferences.
The 'supplemental rank order list' is created by applicants who wish to rank advanced positions (beginning in the second year of training) on their primary rank order list and who also want to match to a compatible preliminary or transitional first-year program.
hi digital doc...
i have a small doubt. now its clear that we can apply for different specialties.
but my doubt is, can we apply for different specialties in the same hospital. i mean can we apply for internal medicine and family medicine or surgery in the same hospital???
You can apply - but is a risky proposition to an extent since they department docs could communicate and even unintentionally may discover that they have the same applicant..more so if the applicant had some unique thing or was exceptionally qualified .. :-)
it does remain a matter of luck to an extent that the departments would know or would not know..
specialties like pathology and surgery communicate more with each other than pathology and medicine..so that could be one consideration to give while thinking of applying at the same university / hospital.