Career Planning

The Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) is a service that transmits the MyERAS application and supporting documentation from applicants and PNWU to residency program directors. 

Students will be emailed an ERAS token in the spring of their third-year to register for their MyERAS account. If a student has not received their ERAS token after the official opening date for the season, they should contact Enrollment Services. Following is some helpful links and information regarding Residency Application.

• Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) is a component of the residency application.  Student Affairs (SA) will develop the MSPE in conjunction with each student’s Regional Assistant Dean, and the Assistant Dean for Clinical Education.  Each letter encompasses the following sections: Identifying Information, Noteworthy Characteristics, Academic History, Year III Clinical Rotation Summary, Third Year Honors, COMAT, Awards, Competency Averages, Preclinical/Clinical Class Summary, Summary, and Medical School Information.  SA will begin creating the letters starting July, prior to each match cycle, and they will be automatically uploaded to ERAS on October 1st of each year.  Students will review their MSPE letters mid-September, and work with the SA MSPE writer regarding grammatical edits, and any discrepancies within their letter.  Please contact Malinda Lattin for more information regarding the MSPE letter.
• MyERAS Guide (worksheets, checklists and details to help navigate ERAS and prepare the residency application) 
• ERAS Timeline for Residency Applicants: Application Deadlines 
• ERAS FAQ
  • If you had an ERAS token from a prior year, but did not participate in Residency Match, and you obtain a new ERAS token, once a student certifies and submits an ERAS application in the prior year, they will be able to see and import it into their subsequent year application. Please note that only the MyERAS application itself, along with the personal statement(s) will be able to be viewed. No supporting document will be saved for the applicants.
• Fees for ERAS Residency Applications
• Transcripts from PNWU can be ordered through Self-Service
  • PNWU will upload one free transcript to ERAS by September 1, after third-year honors are posted, for all fourth-year students participating in the residency application cycle. Students who want to request a transcript before or after September 1 will need to request a transcript and pay the $10 transcript fee.
  • PNWU will upload one free transcript to VSAS by February 1 of the student’s third-year. If a student wants a transcript before or after February 1 they may request a transcript and pay the $10 transcript fee.

Document Request

For fellowship applications you may be asked to send your MSPE dean’s letter and official transcripts. PNWU uses the ERAS EFDO/MIDUS system to upload and provide university documentation.

To Request MSPE & Official Transcript:

1. Request an official transcript
2. Select HOLD FOR PICK-UP as delivery method
3. Select OTHER and type in ERAS for the recipient
4. Login into your myERAS account
5. Complete request (a separate request is required for each document)

Contact Information:

• Title: Assistant Registrar
• Contact: Mysti Meiers
• Email: registrar@pnwu.edu
• Phone: 509-249-7888

Once we receive that notification directly from ERAS, please give us one business day to process both requests. If you need an ERAS Token, email regstrar@pnwu.edu and one will be emailed to you.

• Visit the PNWU Graduate Medical Education
• Research regional FM programs
• Family Medicine Residency Network
• Residency Talk Tuesdays! Starting September 10, 2024, talk with us in person every Tuesday from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM in the Butler Haney Hall Foyer. The last Tuesday of each month is specifically dedicated to personal statement development and scholarly activity. 
• Find all of your Residency Resources on the Residency Planning SharePoint site

Letter of Recommendations (LoR) are important to obtain as you are moving through your third year. The sooner you request a LoR after the completion of a rotation the easier it will be for your preceptor because your performance will be fresh in their mind. Especially if you had a positive experience. Students will want to make sure they start requesting their LoR’s be uploaded into MyERAS as soon as it opens, so they will be ready for Residency Applications. Below are some important links to help students and their preceptors.

Students must request through MyERAS a Letter Request Form (LRF) for each LoR they are requesting and they provide the relevant author with the form. Authors and/or their designees use the unique Letter ID on each LRF to upload LoRs for the student. A designee may not be a member of the hospital in an advising role or medical school staff supporting in the application process. Applicants must indicate whether they waive their right to view the LoR for each LoR entry created. Applicants who waive their right to view a LoR are not permitted to view or obtain the LoR under any circumstances. All letters of recommendation must be uploaded through the Letters of Reccomendation Portal (LoRP).

• ERAS Letter of Recommendations Portal (LoRP): Letter of Recommendations (LORs) cannot be uploaded to ERAS until the season officially opens in the spring. LOR’s are more valuable, if you waive the right to see them, and not personally hold them. Campus staff are not permitted to process the LOR’s for the preceptor, but another designee (appointed/selected by the preceptor)may.

Guidelines for Requesting Letters of Recommendation

Ask if the preceptor is willing to write a strong letter of recommendation, and give a minimum of at least two weeks notice to the preceptor

• Your CV (a photograph will help the preceptor remember you!)
• Your personal statement
• Your career/residency goals
• Send your author the Guidelines for Preceptors Writing LORs
• Submit a Letter request form (LRF) with right to review waived (submit one for each author)
• Link to the LoR Author Guide and LoR

Do not accept a letter if the preceptor asks you to write it for them. A preceptor willing to put their own thoughts and time into the letter will reflect more positively on you.

Residency Match for each match services. Once you have registered with the match service you will submit what is called a “Rank Order List” to the match program(s) in which you are interested. There is an algorithmic program that matches programs and applicants based on this list as well as the “rank Order List” submitted by each program. 

• NRMP Match Program (National Residency Match Program)
• AAMC Residency Explorer
• SFSmatch residency and fellowship matching services for specialties and subspecialties
• PNWU Match Results

Results from both the NMS and NRMP will be made available to Student Affairs several hours before they are made available to participants. Student Affairs will be in communication with those students who have not matched in order to provide support moving forward.

Military Match Application

Fourth year medical students, transitional residents, and general medical officers (GMOs) are in the thick of the match process that began this summer to hopefully match into their specialty and residency of choice. The military match process begins much earlier in the year compared to our civilian counterparts. Below is a quick list of important dates for the 2020-2021 Match season. For those of you that are curious and just starting out, the dates will change for next year but the overall process will be the same. Continue reading to learn more about the process!

Important 2020-2021 Match Dates

1 July 2020:  Medical Operational Data System (MODS) opened for each service. Paper applications e-mailed to post-graduate year (PGY) 1 applicants.

31 August 2020:  Deadline to create and submit a new GME application.

6 November 2020:  Deadline to submit required GME supporting documents and interviews. Deadline to make application modifications.

16 November 2020:  JSGMESB Tri-Service scoring begins.

7 December 2020:  JSGMESB Service Specific Selection Board convenes.

6 January 2021:  JSGMESB results released.

20 January 2021:  Training acceptance deadline for resident and fellow selectees.

We are pleased to offer you a free training system that features a new and innovative way to help you prepare more effectively for a residency interview.

Big Interview is an online system that combines training AND practice to help improve your interview technique and build your confidence.

Big Interview Medical offers a variety of tools including:

• Challenging, virtual mock interviews for all experience levels
• A database of thousands of interview questions with tips on how to answer them
• The ability to rate and share your interview answers for feedback
• A comprehensive video training curriculum covering all aspects of landing a job
• A step-by-step interview Answer Builder for crafting answers to behavioral questions
• A Resume builder and Resume Curriculum

HOW TO REGISTER

Here’s how to set up your Big Interview Medical account:

STEP 1: Go to pnwu.biginterviewmedical.com and click “Register”.

STEP 2: Enter your school email address, name, and password, and click “Create my Account”

STEP 3: Log in and start using Big Interview.

Here is a short video if you need help with registration.

Careers in Medicine Website – https://www.aamc.org/cim/

PNWU students have all been registered for Careers in Medicine.

You receive free access to CiM upon matriculation. Sign in using your AAMC Account. This is the same user name and password you created to sign up for the MCAT exam, AMCAS, and other AAMC services.

Research Opportunities (must be logged in to CiM)

Residency Explorer is a new free resource that allows applicants to research individual residency programs in 11 specialties* and to compare themselves to applicants who previously matched at those programs. Residency Explorer offers verified data from reputable organizations as an alternative to crowdsourced resources that may not be reliable or trustworthy.

Using their AAMC username and password, student affairs deans, residency program directors, and others involved in GME also can access Residency Explorer to learn about what students will experience when they use the tool. If you do not have an AAMC username, you can set one up when you log in to Residency Explorer.

Residency Explorer does not advise applicants where to apply or predict whether they will match to a residency program. It is intended to help residency applicants explore and research programs and to develop a list of programs for further investigation. We encourage applicants to consult with a trusted advisor or mentor as they research programs.

If you have questions about Residency Explorer, please consult the FAQ section at https://www.residencyexplorer.org

Rural residency sites used the last three years for determining which residencies to which our students match are rural:

Rural Training Track (RTT) List 

AAFP Residency Directory

• Select rural from the Community Setting drop down, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click “View Residencies” for a list of rural residencies across the US. 

Baptist Memorial Medical Education Ob/Gyn residency. 
Memphis, TN. 
A new program, just approved by ACGME.

Resident quota: approved for 4 residents per year.  Applications for PG-1 positions beginning July, 2021 will be accepted through ERAS only.  We are also seeking 4 residents to begin at the PG-2 level starting next July.

Institution: Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women.  Baptist hospital has hosted ob/gyn residents for over 40 years.  Baptist has been an integral part of the Univ TN program in Memphis so the physicians and nursing staff are very well aware of the needs of the residents.  The institution does over 5000 deliveries a year (the largest obstetric volume in the region) and has a similar large volume of gynecologic surgery, both benign and gyn oncology.  Residents will have an ample opportunity to develop advanced skills in open, minimally-invasive, vaginal, and robotic surgery.   The hospital has demonstrated its dedication to quality graduate medical education in the other programs currently offered with a dedication to the importance of resident wellness. 

Programmatic mission:  to train emphatic physicians to become outstanding evidence-based physicians.  

Medical staff: The medical staff will be dedicated to education of the resident along with outstanding patient care.  Because many of us have had academic careers prior to entering private practice, residents will actively participate in the most advanced procedures and be directly involved with both straightforward and the most complex referral cases.  In addition to many talented and dedicated clinicians, there are also many of us who have extensive academic credentials.  Expertise in all recognized subspecialties will be working with and mentoring residents in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Research: opportunities are available for residents to be involved in both clinical and basic science investigations, while those who wish to pursue fellowships will be given the foundation to be successful applicants in that regard also.  The size of the program will allow for outstanding mentorship between resident and attendings, be it clinically, academically, or in research.  The faculty is widely published, offering each resident insight into the practice of evidence-based medicine within a compassionate context.

The Memphis community provides the advantages of a large city with abundant opportunities for residents to enjoy professional sports, the arts, and outdoor activities.  A family-friendly openness is a quality appreciated by those who are otherwise occupied by the rigors of postgraduate medical training.

Until the website goes live, any inquiries can be directed to Ms. Roumiana Katzarkov.  Roumiana.katzarkov@bmhcc.org. 

• Air Force
• Army
• Coast Guard
• Navy Graduate Medical Education

Additional Information

• Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP)
• Medicine and the Military
• MODS – Medical Education Doc Upload (only available on military network)
• MODS Help Desk at (703) 681-4976

Each recipient of the DO degree must fulfill the requirements of the state licensing board of the state in which the physician chooses to practice. These requirements vary widely and are regulated by the laws of each state. Refer to the Federation of State Medical Boards or Physician Licensing Service websites for details.

Student Affairs works with students interested in connecting with PNWU alumni. Joining the Student-Alumni Network is a great resource to help current students succeed as they move further into their training.

Complete the following registration form if you’re interested in joining the Student-Alumni Network to connect with PNWU Alumni.

Student-Alumni Network Registration Form