Preparing for 4th Year and the Match

Amber Hull, OMSIV

SummaryLicensing Exams: timing, preparation, to

USMLE or not to USMLE?

Scheduling Electives and VSAS

Roadmap to 4th year

ERAS: selection of programs and cost

Interviews, travel and budget

Preparing the ROL

Match Day and SOAP

Licensing ExamsCOMLEX Level 1: after second year

COMLEX Level 2 CE: after third year

COMLEX Level 2 PE: in Conchahocken, PA Register early (fall of 3rd year) for best dates

COMLEX Level 3: Intern year

COMLEX is accepted for Licensure in all 50 states

Board Certification is a separate process: Board exams are taken at the end of residency

To USMLE or not to USMLE? If you plan to complete your residency and fellowship within an

AOA program, USMLE is not required

If you plan to apply for ACGME programs, check with each individual program to see if they require Step 1, Step 2 or both

If you plan to do a fellowship which is NOT offered through the AOA: You can plan to do residency through the ACGME and then apply to

the desired fellowship- USMLE requirements will be program specific but not necessarily required

You can do an AOA residency and attempt to enter an ACGME fellowship as an “exceptionally qualified” applicant-all steps of USMLE required under the new Common Program Requirements **This exception will be specialty dependent- specifics announced

in early 2014.**

Preparing for Licensing Exams: Level 1Study for your classes: lots of pharmacology and pathology

on Level 1/Step 1

First Aid +/-

Doctors in Training, Kaplan, PASS program, Pathoma

Question Banks: USMLE World, COMBANK, COMQuest

Make a schedule and allow yourself some time for exercise, sleep and family

Schedule Exams a few days apart if you choose to do both

COMLEX Level 2

Your COM will send you an email when you are eligible to register (October of 3rd year)

Cognitive Evaluation (CE) Similar format and study resources as for Level 1 Material tested is less basic science and more clinical

Performance Evaluation (PE): 12 standardized patients 6 hour clinical skills exam at the NBOME testing center in PA 14 min encounter + 9 min SOAP note 8-10 weeks for scores to be reported Ideally, you want passing PE scores at the time that ERAS opens

(September 15th) so try to schedule your COMLEX PE during summer of 3rd year (May, June, July)

Licensure vs Board CertificationYou apply for a license through the state in

which you practice- Requires all 3 steps of COMLEX

Board Certification is specialty specific and requires completion of residency training AOA Board Certification American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Dual Certification is available CME will be based on which Board certification is

obtained http://osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/development/ao

a-board-certification/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.abms.org/About_ABMS/

Scheduling

Electives vs CoreCheck to see what requirements your school has and make

sure you schedule blocks to fulfill them

Electives: max number of weeks in a single specialty (ex: 16 weeks max in peds)

Schedule vacation weeks that allow sufficient time to study for Level 2 and travel to PA

You may need to schedule vacation time for interviews and/or COSGP meetings

Audition Rotations/Sub-Internships

Pros “Mandatory” for some

osteopathic programs: you are more likely to be ranked if you rotate there

Try out a program Prove yourself See an area of the country that

you may want to train in Some programs offer courtesy

interviews to Sub-Interns Adventure!

Cons Not really necessary for

ACGME programs Expensive!! Double rent vs living out of

suitcases People will see your

shortcomings in addition to your strengths so you have to perform at your peak at all times

Learning a new system (EMR, hospital layout, etc) every month is a challenge

Away ElectivesOsteopathic Programs: call the medical student coordinator at

the host site

Allopathic programs: program specific application process Check the website of the program you’re interested in rotating at

VSAS= Visiting Student Application Service Centralized application service: upload required documents and

assign them to specific programs ($15 per application) Check application opening dates, required forms (specific

immunization forms) Earliest opening date for Applications is February 1 but many

programs take applications beginning in March, April or May for Fall rotations

Helpful Resources & IdeasVsas.aamc.org

Try to schedule in August, September and/or October (new interns in July; interview season is October-January)

Housing: check with the host site about visiting student housing, Rotatingroom.com, Airbnb.com, consider rotating in places where you have generous friends/family with an extra room;-)

Rental cars are MUCH cheaper if you go through Hotwire.com or a similar site

Now is a great time to apply for a credit card which gives you airline miles if you don’t already have one!

Preparing for ERAS and the

Match

Registration for the MatchRegistration for NMS and NRMP are separate from ERAS!

National Matching Service: Osteopathic Match $60 Registration fee. Deadline: Nov 1, 2013 to avoid late fee. https://www.natmatch.com/aoairp/applregister.html

National Resident Matching Program: Allopathic Match $60 registration fee. Deadline Nov 30 to avoid late fee. http://www.nrmp.org Match Prism tracking App for iPhone and Android

ERAS: Electronic Residency Application Service

Documents: COMLEX/USMLE transcripts, LORs, Personal Statement(s)- assign these to programs

Application: General Info, Licenses (ACLS, etc.), Medical Education Medical School Honors/Awards Membership in Honorary/Professional Societies Education and Prior Training Experience: Research, work, volunteer Publications: Peer Reviewed Articles/Abstracts, Other articles, Oral

Presentations Languages Hobbies and Interests Other Awards and Accomplishments

ProgramsSearch and Apply to MD and DO programs

Assign documents to the programs you apply to You can have multiple personal statements Most programs require 3 LORs but will take up to 4

EM may require a SLOR (standard LOR) Some programs will require a LOR form the

Department Chair Applicant Document Tracking System (ADTS) allows

you to see when your documents are downloaded ERAS Application Fees:

Programs Up to 10 - $92Programs 11-20 - $9 eachPrograms 21-30 - $15 eachPrograms 31 or more - $26 each

Helpful Resources and Hints Start ERAS early! It will take several hours to enter all

of your amazing accomplishments.

The Personal Statement might be the hardest thing you write in med school. Revise, Revise Revise!

Have people proofread your application and Personal Statement.

Don’t embellish your CV just to fill space but be sure to include any presentations you’ve given for your SGA or COSGP. They count!

Check each program’s website for application requirements. Some want your PS to address a specific topic or have LOR specifications.

Number of programs you apply to will depend on your specialty and qualifications.

Researching Programs and Specialties

Opportunities.osteopathic.org

FREIDA: https://login.ama-assn.org/account/login

Osteopathic GME Match Report: http://data.aacom.org/aacomas/do_gme_match_report2012.asp

NRMP Charting Outcomes in the Match: http://b83c73bcf0e7ca356c80-e8560f466940e4ec38ed51af32994bc6.r6.cf1.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/resultsanddata2013.pdf

NRMP Charting Outcomes in the Match: Specialties Match http://b83c73bcf0e7ca356c80-e8560f466940e4ec38ed51af32994bc6.r6.cf1.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/NRMP-Charting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-Specialties-Matching-Service-1st-Edition-Published-May-2013.pdf

Interviews and BudgetingMost people do between 6-12 interviews

Interview invitations will start being issued within days of ERAS opening and continue well into December. Respond ASAP to get your choice of dates. Check your spam folder!

Some programs will pay for your hotel

Event with residents the night before, Interview day usually ~8a-2p. Details in program email.

If you’re doing an elective at a site where you end up getting lots of interviews, try to schedule them so that you can drive.

Use a spreadsheet and/or Google Calendar to keep track of logistics and program details that are important to you.

Preparing the Rank Order ListROL opens for Osteopathic Match Participants on Jan 8, 2014-

due Jan 24, 2014

ROL opens for Allopathic Match Participants on Jan 15, 2014-due February 26, 2014

Must certify your ROL prior to deadline but can make changes up until the deadline

Rank programs in order of your training preferences, not how you think the programs will rank you.

Match Day and SOAP (Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program)

Friday before Match week: email notification of SOAP eligibility-does not mean that you didn’t match!

Find out WHETHER you have matched on Monday of Match week

SOAP (the scramble): applicants apply for any unfilled spots through ERAS

Find out WHERE you matched on Friday of Match week

Osteopathic Match: February; Allopathic Match: March

If you Match in the Osteopathic match you MUST withdraw your application from the Allopathic Match!

To participate in the osteopathic scramble, you must have registered for the NMS Match (even if you don’t rank any programs)**If you do the Allopathic Match you cant scramble into Osteopathic programs until after the Allopathic scramble**

Questions?