Checklist

Student Responsibilities

____    1.  Start the match process by reading some of the references listed in the back of this guide; discussing your field of interest and the match process with interns, residents, private practitioners, and academicians; and requesting information from residency programs.

____    2.  Sign up for the ERAS/CAS/NRMP match and for any other applicable matches (e.g. ophthalmology, urology, and military). Better to register and withdraw (and at worst, lose your registration fee) than not be able to participate.

­­­____    3.  Prepare your Curriculum Vitae and personal statement. The CV is a source of information for preparing your MSPE and for faculty and the department chairperson in writing letters of recommendation. Samples are on the Vanderbilt Careers in Medicine website. Review your CV and personal statement via email with a college mentor prior to your MSPE appointment.

______4.  Prepare the “Noteworthy Characteristics” section of the MSPE at least 2 weeks prior to your MSPE appointment.

­­­____    5.  Choose your faculty advisor(s). In May, you will be asked by the Office of Student Affairs to select official faculty advisor(s). Advisors will be of help to you in matters relating to your fourth year schedule and issues relating to career choice and applications for internship/residency. If you are uncertain of your career choice, choose advisors in the two most likely specialties. Advisors can be changed if subsequent changes in career direction occur.

____    6.  Keep track of relevant deadlines for completing applications to individual programs and to deadlines for participating in specialty matches, the military, and the NRMP.

____    7.  Prepare and maintain a working list of hospitals to which you will be applying. You may wish to keep an organized written record or chart of where you are in the application process for each hospital and update it frequently. Also develop a tentative schedule of interviews. If interviews are to be arranged in conjunction with electives away, indicate this information on your schedule.

____    8.  For your own records prepare a list of people you will be asking to write letters of recommendation. Include their name, position, faculty rank, nature of the letter (e.g., department chairperson’s letter). Decide to which program(s) each person’s letters will be sent. Remember, for NON-ERAS programs you will provide each of these individuals with a list of program addresses. For ERAS programs, you will give them a letter of recommendation request form (printed from the ERAS website) containing your letter identification number. This number is your unique identifier and is different for each request form you print. Do not make copies of this letter. Print each request form separately. Once the letter is written, the author will follow the on-screen directions to upload the letter to your application file.

____    9.  Review your MSPE. The Office of Student Affairs will notify you when the final draft is ready. This review will provide you with an opportunity to check for factual accuracy and be aware of what is being sent on your behalf. You must recognize that the Associate Dean for Medical Student Affairs has responsibility for the content of this letter of evaluation.

____    10.  Schedule your hospital visits and interviews. Be sure to get approval in advance from clinical course directors for time taken away from rotations. You are expected to have 100% attendance on clinical rotations. On occasion, a course director may give a student special permission to take time away.  No student should expect more than three days away from any clerkship and this must have the course director’s approval.

____    11.  Prepare your tentative rank list of programs.

____    12.  Enter your final rank list by February.

____    13.  Relax until Match Day!

*Some dates subject to change.