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Completion of AOA-approved postdoctoral training is required to sit for osteopathic specialty certification board examination. It is important to note that some states deny licensure to osteopathic physicians unless they have completed AOA-approved postdoctoral training.

Residency Application Components: 

Federal student loans are not available for expenses incurred by medical students after they graduate or expenses associated with finding a residency. There are private loans for these expenses:

  • Residency and Relocation Loan helps medical and dental students with the expenses associated with finding a residency, including interview travel expenses and relocation costs, as well as board exam expenses.
  • The SallieMae Residency and Relocation Loan is currently available to PNWU students; other lenders have not granted PNWU eligiblity at this time.

 Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Your CV is a comprehensive written summary of your educational and professional experience. Do not add fluff—most CVs will be read in two minutes—be concise. Prepare your CV for use in scholarship applications, requests for visiting rotations, requests for letters of recommendation, and for submission to the dean for the MSPE letter. Keep your CV up to date and have copies with you at all times.

Your CV should be simple, direct, and high quality. Your CV should be two to four pages in length. Use columns with dates on the left and brief statements on the right. Print in black and use white resumé quality paper, 100 percent cotton fiber.

Formatting:

  • "Curriculum Vitae" and professional name underneath will be the header on the first page only, subsequent pages should have your preferred professional name with right side alignment.
  • Footer should be page ___ out of ___
  • Margins: one-inch minimum, one-and-a-half-inch maximum
  • Use only one font; most common are Times New Roman, Verdana, Ariel.
    • Text size of 11 or 12 for the body, one size larger for headings.
    • Bold, underline, or italicize headings but only one style and be consistent.
    • Be consistent with spacing between sections.

Be sure to include name, address, phone, email, education, clinical clerkships, licensure, and certification.

  • Header: address, phone, email
  • Education: most recent first, do not include associate degree or high school.

Include the following if they apply: postdoctural training, academic appointments, hospital appointments, honors and distinctions, conference attendance, professional societies, professional service, volunteer service, public broadcasting, teaching experience, business experience, administrative responsibilities, leadership responsibilities, research responsibilities, research publications, clinical publications, and invited presentations.

Do not include age, gender, marital status, social security number, or references. See the Academic Support Office web page for a template to get you started.

 Letters of Recommendation

You will need at least three letters of recommendation for your MyERAS application. You may also need a letter of recommendation for visiting rotation applications. 

When asking for a letter of recommendation, provide a Letter of Recommendation Request - ERAS form, your CV, a preaddressed stamped envelope, and a personal statment that includes when you rotated, what you enjoyed about the rotation, and anything memorable to jog the memory of the writer. Ask program directors and department chairs with whom you have interacted.

As the PNWU Enrollment Services Office receives the letters, your Checklist in PowerCAMPUS will be updated with the name of the letter writer, and the status will be changed to "complete." Once the letter of recommendation has been received, send a thank-you note to the writer.

 Personal Statement

The personal statement is a unique opportunity to write about your personal goals, aspirations, and accomplishments as they relate to a potential specialty area and residency training program.

The personal statement allows you to write about who you are and where you want to go. It is not an essay on health care nor about the future of health care in the US. It is a personal statement that puts your life into context and perspective.

There are typically four questions you should address in the personal statement:

  • Why are you interested in this specialty choice?
  • What are you looking for in a residency program?
  • What will you bring to a residency program?
  • How does this specialty fit or match with your professional goals?

The personal statement describes your motivation for your specialty choice and includes supporting information about how you best fit and match the specialty to which you are applying. If necessary, this is also a place to explain any academic or board exam difficulties or weakness in your application.

 MyERAS

The Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) is a service for applicants to transmit osteopathic and allopathic residency program applications and supporting credentials from medical schools to residency program directors. Review the ERAS application manual to familiarize yourself with the application and necessary components. 

  • Education, experience, presentations and publications, extracurricular
  • Personal statement
  • COMLEX transcript
  • USMLE transcript if you took that exam
  • List the authors of your letters of recommendation; PNWU cannot upload your letters of recommendation until you create this list.
  • Monitor your ERAS Checklist
  • Monitor your ERAS Message Center
  • Monitor your ERAS Applicant Document Tracking System (ADTS)
  • Programs: search and select residency programs

PNWU Enrollment Services Office scans and attaches supporting documents for the application through a program known as the Dean’s Workstation (DWS). These materials are then transmitted via ERAS to the residency programs the applicant has selected for application. 

  • Letters of recommendation
  • PNWU transcript
  • Photograph
  • MSPE 

Researching Training Programs

During the registration season, ERAS works with training programs to update their contact information and to confirm their participation status as of July 1. Applicants are advised to thoroughly research programs prior to applying to them via ERAS. Applicants should find out specific program offerings, application requirements, and deadlines prior to submitting an application to the program. Some programs have provided web addresses for applicants, and they are listed in MyERAS as well as on the ERAS public website. Applicants should use these resources to research the programs in which they’re interested before they submit their applications.

 Fees

  • PNWU Transcript - $10
  • ERAS - up to ten programs $85; additional fees for added programs
  • COMLEX Transcript - $70
  • USMLE Transcript - $70
  • AOA/National Match Service - $60
  • NRMP Match - $50; after November 30, $100

 Medical School Performance Evaluation (MSPE)

The MSPE is written for each fourth-year medical student and uploaded to the ERAS system for use in residency applications, second residencies, and post-residency fellowships. Submit your CV and two positive rotation evaluation comments to the Dean's Office to assist in the writting of your MSPE. The MSPE is considered part of your academic record and is available for your review. You may correct factual errors but may not revise evaluative statements.

MPSE Components

Medical School Achievements: This section includes information about your achievements at PNWU-COM such as research, teaching, leadership, activities, awards, and service. 

Academic Progress: This section includes information about your academic performance, professional attributes, as well as breaks in enrollment. It is broken down into two sections, your basic science years and Year III. Honors in individual courses during Years I and II are listed in this section. Egregious infractions that have occurred to date are also reflected in this section. If appropriate, you should be able to say you recognized the particular situation, implemented a solution of your own initiative, and that your performance improved. 

Appendix: This is the Medical School Information Page, which explains the mission of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, the PWNU-COM Pass/Fail Philosophy (why there is no GPA on your transcript), and the PNWU-COM curriculum.

Clinical Rotation Evaluation Summary and CORE Competency Averages: These documents are included in every student's MSPE as attachments. All of your rotations and electives from July of Year III through August of Year IV will be included. Rotations are listed in chronological order and all grades are recorded. A chart is attached that lists an average of scores on the Osteopathic Core Competencies across all clinical rotations.

 Interviews

Interviews are conducted according to schedules announced by individual training institutions. Students and institutions are responsible for contacting each other to arrange interviews. It is advisable for students to interview with several programs in order to make an informed decision regarding the best program for their individual needs.

1.  All interviews must be completed prior to the submission of Rank Order Lists for the Match.

2.  Make sure you schedule your time off with your preceptor as far ahead as possible.

3.  Limit the amount of interviews per rotation.

1.  Especially if you are on a two-week rotation, try to be gone as little as possible.

2.  Try and schedule time away so you only miss a Monday or Friday, leaving later on Thursday to get to your destination if possible.

 Match

The match provides an orderly process to help students obtain positions of their choice, and to help programs obtain students of their choice. Students will register with one or more match services. Students should monitor each match service's registration deadline.

After all interviews are completed, each student submits a rank order list of desired programs, in numerical order of the student's preference (first choice, second choice, etc.). Similarly, each program submits a rank order list of desirable students, in order of the program's preference. Each program also indicates the number of positions the program has available.

The match then places individuals into positions based entirely on the preferences stated in the rank order lists.  Due to multiple match days and the fact that many students are off campus and away from their regional sites, PNWU will celebrate match during a graduation-week event.  If you receive a residency offer outside of the Match process please notify the Enrollment Services Office.

AOA/National Matching Services

Match results will be posted on the website at noon eastern time on February 13, 2012, and the dean will email the AOA match letters to students.

Military Match

Military students, including HPSP students, are expected to complete the ERAS application, but most also are required to complete additional paperwork for the military match. Directions for this can be found in the letter of instruction (LOI) in MODS. Specific dates change every year, but generally the deadline for specialty choice and rank of programs is mid October. Although the rank list can be changed for a short period of time afterwards, the ERAS rank list and MODS rank list must match. The match results generally are released mid December.

SF Match

National Resident Matching Program

At 12:00 noon, eastern time, on Monday of match week, applicants can learn if they matched to a program on their rank order list by logging in to the NRMP's Registration, Ranking, and Results (R3) System. Applicants will be presented with one of the following messages on the applicant options page:

1. Congratulations, you have matched! – will not be eligible for SOAP or Unfilled Program List.

2. Congratulations, you have matched to an advanced position but not a first-year position! – will be eligible for SOAP and Unfilled Program List.

3. Congratulations, you have matched to a one-year position! – will be eligible for SOAP and Unfilled Program List.

4. We are sorry, you did not match to any position! – will be eligible for SOAP and Unfilled Program List.

5. You are NOT matched because you did not submit a certified rank order list! – will be eligible for SOAP and Unfilled Program List.

6. You are NOT matched because you are withdrawn! – if will be eligible for graduate medical education by July 1 may be eligible for SOAP and Unfilled Program List.

On Friday of match week, match results for applicants are posted to website at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) concludes at 5:00 p.m. eastern time.

 AOA Scramble

The AOA scramble process is changing in 2012. Below is the latest information as of January 18, 2012. As more details are received, the information below will be updated and communicated to students.

  • The AOA is working on a web tool for residency programs to log in and advertise open spots. Programs may update their information from February 13 to April 30.
  • Unmatched students will log in to search for and contact programs. If matched, the student would not be allowed to log in.
  • AOA plans to have the tool available all year for off-cycle students or new programs.
  • If the new tool is not ready by February 2012, then there will be a list on the AOA website, and students may contact programs with open spots.
    • The list on the AOA website cannot be updated by programs, so it may be out of date.
  • Students who anticipate needing time off from a rotation must contact their regional dean, coordinator, and preceptor with the understanding that the time must be made up.
  • The Regional Sites Office and Enrollment Services Office will be available for questions.  

 Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP)

SOAP is the process through which positions offered by unfilled programs are accepted by unmatched applicants during match week. SOAP replaces the "scramble" and provides a standardized and uniform process for obtaining post-match appointments. Unfilled programs electing to participate in SOAP offer positions to SOAP-eligible unmatched applicants through the Registration, Ranking, and Results (R3) System, and positions offered and accepted constitute a binding commitment under the Match Participation Agreement.

SOAP-Eligible Applicants:

Locations of all unfilled positions are released at 12:00 noon eastern time on the NRMP website, only to participants eligible for the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP).

  • Access to List of Unfilled Programs at noon Monday based on match status
  • Select programs using ERAS beginning 1:00 p.m. eastern time Monday
  • ERAS applications transmitted beginning 2:00 p.m. eastern time Monday
  • First program offers sent at noon eastern time Wednesday
  • Receive offer notification by email
    • may receive multiple offers
  • Log in to R3 System to accept/reject offer
  • Receive email notification when offer is accepted
  • SOAP participation status updated each round
  • Only the student may contact a residency program; the school is not allowed to make contact for the student.
  • Students who anticipate needing time off from a rotation must contact their regional dean, coordinator, and preceptor with the understanding that the time must be made up.
  • The Regional Sites Office and the Enrollment Services Office will be available for questions.
  • All students eligible to participate in the SOAP process should review the complete rules and regulations on the NRMP website.

Staff will be available to assist in faxing, emailing, copying, answering questions, etc. if you decide to come to the Enrollment Services Office, you will need to bring the following with you:

1. Laptop (to apply to programs via ERAS)

2. Cell phone (to call programs and they can contact you immediately)

3. Printed ERAS application (so you can refer to it while talking with programs)

4. Updated CV (you might need to email or fax this along with other data)

5. Personal statement(s) (you might need to email or fax this along with other data)

6. A generic cover letter to send to programs

7. PNWU has your white coat picture, electronic transcript, and letters of recommendation if you need to fax or email to prospective programs.

Scramble and SOAP Day will likely be busy so if you cannot reach Nicki Flood or LeAnn Hunter, contact Enrollment Services at 509-452-5100 and identify yourself as a Scramble student so we can make your call a priority.