In this issue:
- Please take the ISA Survey, if you haven’t already, by tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 1
- Compliance deadline for data stewardship is Nov. 15, 202
- ICYMI: Important info for students entering Match 2026
- Tip of the month: Planning for your Fourth Year
Please take the ISA Survey, if you haven’t already, by tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 1
Here is a message from ISA Committee Co-Leads Nicholas Popp (MS4), Sarah Busch (MS4), Ben Henderson (MS3), Matt Lumsden (MS2) and Lila Faulhaber (MS2):
We thank each and every one of you, who took the time to complete the student-led Independent Student Analysis (ISA) survey. Thanks to you, your cohort response rate now stands at 64% (up 11 percentage points over last week). We would love to see your cohort reaching the goal of 80%. Currently, Alaska students haves met that goal by recording the highest rate of 86%, followed by Wyoming and Montana at 75%, Idaho, 69%, Spokane, 65%, and Seattle, 52%.
Your clerkship leaders and team members are aware of the importance of this survey and stand ready to help you carve out some time to complete the survey.
The survey will remain open until tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 1, in order to give the rest of you the opportunityies to add your voices. Once the survey closes, we will do random drawings of gift cards (See the table below for the distribution of gift cards).
If you have not yet taken the survey, look for an email from eqi@uw.edu with the subject line “[Reminder] We need you to complete the ISA survey!”
Thank you very much for your enthusiastic participation!
Gift Card Incentives: Please see the breakdown below. There will be one $500 gift card for drawing from all four cohorts.
| Campus | # of Gift Cards ($10) if Campus Response Rates Reach 60% | # of Gift Cards ($50) if Campus Response Rates Reach 60% | Additional # of Gift Cards ($30) if Campus Response Rates Reach 80% | Total # of Gift Cards |
| Seattle | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Spokane | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Wyoming | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Alaska | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Montana | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Idaho | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Total | 16 | 6 | 17 | 39 |
*According to the UW policy, student employees (e.g., tutors, research assistants, hourly workers, etc.) cannot receive a gift card. If you win the raffle as a student employee, we will send alternative items of the same value from Amazon.
Compliance deadline for data stewardship is Nov. 15, 2024
UW Medicine requires all medical students to learn how to properly safeguard confidential information and comply with standards for personal accountability for data stewardship. All students, including concurrent degree/MSTP students and students on a leave of absence, are required to maintain compliance. Please complete the UW Privacy, Confidentiality, and Information Security Agreement (PCISA) requirement in the To-Do List of your UW71 CastleBranch account [mycb.castlebranch.com]. The deadline is Nov. 15, 2024.
Read everything you need to know to comply with the requirement in this full announcement: https://education.uwmedicine.org/blog/2024/10/29/data-stewardship-compliance-deadline/.
ICYMI: Important info for students entering Match 2026
Please schedule your 4th Year Career Planning Appointment with your career advisor from now through December. You can select that appointment type in the Career Advising Scheduling system (CAS).
Plan to spend a minimum of 2-3 hours reading through the content and taking the prep steps. Think of this as a mini-learning module that will set you up for success in your E&F career planning and your residency application.
Prep Steps to Complete Prior to Your Appointment:
Read ALL the Career Planning for 4th Year Guide webpage resources including the summer and fall PowerPoints and Specialty Guides Clinical Phase Planning content and follow the steps outlined.
Next:
- Download and complete a draft of your Clinical Phase Planning Worksheet (found on the Career Planning for 4th Year Guide webpage)
- Upload your Planning Worksheet to your meeting in CAS so we can review it together. Appointments cannot be modified within 24 hours so you can email your worksheet to your career advisor if needed
If you have experienced any of the following, please schedule your 4th Year Career Planning appointment from now through early November.
- Finishing your Patient Care Phase 6-12 weeks after the standard end time of March 2025
- Foundations course fail(s)
- Step 1 or Step 2CK fail. Low Step 1 or Step 2CK score. Or you have not taken Step 1 yet
- Clerkship exam fail or clerkship fail
- 2 or more passes in Patient Care Phase
- Pass in a specialty of interest
- Expansion (non-research related) or leave of absence
If you want to look further ahead, visit the Residency Application Timeline and Residency Application Components on the Applying to Residency page.
Please come to office hours or email your career advisor if you have quick questions in the meantime. They are here to support you in this process!
Peer to Peer: Road to Residency Tip of the Month
While planning for your last year of medical school is exciting, scheduling your Explore and Focus rotations takes much preparation and planning. Prior to starting, consider reviewing Career Advising’s 4th year planning webpage. Need help after that? Meet with Career Advising and talk with upper classmates who have been in your shoes.
Remember to book the “4th Year Career Planning Appointment” in CAS. Set aside plenty of time for the prep steps and fill out your Clinical Phase Planning Worksheet before you meet.
Don’t stress too much about your schedule right now. You’ve got time to move things around up to six weeks before the start date of that particular clerkship—and honestly, everyone ends up tweaking their schedule as they figure out their interests and when they’ll need breaks or more time to study for Step 2, etc.
- Reviewed by BIPOC MS4 Abraham Correa-Medina. Originally written by BIPOC alum Shanelle Briggs, MD.
Here is a link to the most recent newsletter for MS3s.
Have a terrific week!