Editor’s note: It’s a busy time for MS4s, and there is A LOT of important information here. We thank you for your patience and encourage you to make the time to read this information so you can stay ahead in the month before Match Week and SOAP.
Action required by Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024: Take the Match/SOAP Planning Survey
All graduating 2024 students (including early matches and December 2023 graduates) must fill out the Match/SOAP planning survey before 10:45 p.m. AK, 11:45 p.m. PT on Sunday, February 25 and 12:45 a.m. MT on Monday, February 26.
This survey includes an RSVP to the school-hosted Match ceremonies and required SOAP-related questions. Because of the nature of this event, organizers must have an RSVP from everyone so they can accurately account for all yeses and all nos.
The SOAP-related information will only be used in the event you end up needing it.It’s for you, your career advisor, and Student Affairs’ reference only.
The Match information will be used by Student Affairs to send information to sites for their event planning. Reminders will be sent to students who have not completed the survey.
Action potentially required: Update USMLE Step 2 scores
Was only your Step 1 information available when you submitted your application for residency, and you need to update your application with your Step 2 score? If so, you can update your Step 2 information in ERAS through these steps:
- Log into MyERAS
- Under the “Documents” tab, click on “Additional Documents”
- Under the actions section of the USMLE transcript, click on “retransmit scores”
Your scores will then be sent to the residency programs that you applied to. You will not need to pay an additional fee.
The NRMP Rank List deadline is Feb. 28; consider submitting early
The rank list deadline closes at 5 p.m. AK, 6 p.m. PT, 7 p.m. MT, on Feb. 28. You must certify and submit your rank list for it to be considered complete.
Do not wait until the last minute on Feb. 28 to certify and submit your lists. The system has been known to slow down as more people access it, and the time deadline is FIRM so submit early.
Action needed: Please fill out the Release for Public Match Results
The University of Washington considers match results to be private and protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This means only are shared with the class, the broader School of Medicine community, and the public.
Due to student and faculty requests, the School of Medicine is creating a publicly available Match list which will include the names of matched students, specialties, residency programs, cities and states. Your information will only be included if you choose to opt-in. You can choose to opt in or out at any time before or after Match Day via the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/Bxf1y3jUTp.
Changes in opt in/out status will take one business day to process (so changes made on Friday would be reflected the following Monday). More information about where the public match list will be located and how to access it will be provided closer to Match Day.
If you don’t want your information shared, please still complete the form stating that you are opting out; IT would like this information to determine future support/development of this report. This helps them determine if someone is actively choosing not to share their information vs. if someone just forgot to fill out the form.
Match Day timeline and logistics
Match results are released nationwide at 8 a.m. AK, 9 a.m. PT, 10 a.m. MT. on Friday, March 15. There are five in-person events planned across WWAMI in Anchorage, Boise, Bozeman, Seattle and Spokane. The timing and structure of each site’s event will vary.
After you RSVP via the Match/SOAP planning survey – did we mention the deadline to do that is Feb. 25? — you will be sent more information about your specific site’s event.
Some in-person events may begin after results are released online. Exact times and details are to be confirmed by the event planners:
- Anchorage: start time – TBD; results released at 8 a.m. AK
- Boise: start time – 9:30 a.m. MT; results released at 10 a.m. MT
- Bozeman: start time – 9:30 a.m. MT; results released at 10 a.m. MT
- Seattle: start time – 8:30 a.m. PT; results released at 9 a.m. PT
- Spokane: start time – 11 a.m. PT; results released at 9 a.m. PT
Clerkship attendance during SOAP/Match Week
- Monday, March 11: All fourth-year students who are participating in the Match will be excused from clerkships on Monday, March 11, until 8 a.m. AK, 9 a.m. PT, 10 a.m. MT, to check their match status
- Unmatched students are excused from rotations for the week to participate in SOAP
- The Student Affairs office will communicate with the clerkship directors and administrators directly to let them know who is excused from clerkships and who is expected to return to clerkships
- Friday, March 15: All fourth-year students participating in the Match are excused from clerkships on Friday, March 15, to celebrate Match Day with their friends and families
Here’s your chance to nominate residents and WWAMI clinical faculty for AOA membership and recognition
Please help the UW Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) chapter identify residents, fellows, faculty and UWSOM alumni for consideration to join the honor society. You can also nominate someone for Alpha Omega Alpha’s Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award.
You can learn about these honors in this full post.
- Membership: Every year, the chapter may elect practicing physicians to AOA membership. They seek individuals who demonstrate continued academic and professional achievement, leadership, professionalism, service, teaching, and/or research.
- Clinical faculty award: The clinical faculty award is presented annually to recognize a community physician who contributes with distinction to the education and training of clinical students. Nominees need not be members of AOA, nor does the award automatically give the recipient AOA membership.
Please read this post to learn more and to learn how to nominate someone by midday on March 1, 2024.
AAMC & NRMP webinar explains 2024 Match Week and the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP)
AAMC and the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) will host a joint webinar to introduce residency applicants to the 2024 Match Week and Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) process on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at 9 a.m. AK, 10 a.m. PT, 11 a.m. MT.
The webinar will cover:
- NRMP SOAP eligibility requirements
- Communication rules during SOAP
- ERAS preparation for SOAP
- ERAS SOAP requirements
- ERAS SOAP application process
- Match week timeline
- SOAP offer rounds
- NRMP SOAP data
There will be a Q&A with AAMC ERAS and NRMP staff after the presentation.
Also, remember that UWSOM Career Advising provides SOAP resources on their SOAP website, including the recent UWSOM SOAP Prep recording and slide deck. Check there to learn about support offered by UWSOM during SOAP week. See below for more about those resources.
Note: MS4s, we’re in a busy time in your student life, so we are repeating notices from past newsletters to make sure you see them.
ICYMI: Recording from the Feb. 2 SOAP prep presentation is now available
The recording from the UWSOM Feb. 2 SOAP Prep Session is now available.
If you didn’t receive the number of interviews you had aimed for and/or your specialty career advisor is recommending that you be prepared for the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), this presentation will be helpful in learning how the SOAP process works.
In this session, hosted by the specialty career advisors in surgery, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, along with the career advisors and the Student Affairs team, students heard key takeaways from their school support network. Students in the past have told us how helpful this session was for them.
ICMYI: The deadline is this Monday to nominate someone as a speaker for the Physician’s Oath ceremony in May
Here is the final reminder to submit your suggestion for keynote speaker for the Physician’s Oath & Hooding Ceremony. Submit your nominations by Monday, Feb. 19: https://forms.office.com/r/mrmQY1XPyu
ICYMI: Paying it forward: 2024 Programs Survey
Many of you have benefited from Career Advising’s resources. Consider supporting future students by completing the Paying it Forward – Programs Survey.
- Students regularly ask Career Advising for UWSOM data and many told us how much they benefited from the UW Residency Interviews & Match Data shared with you when you were creating your program lists.
- Your input will strengthen UWSOM data to provide evidence-based, specialty-specific advising for future students.
- As you now know, it is a challenge to determine the number of program applications required to ascertain the ideal range of interviews and the competitiveness level of different programs. Your answers will identify patterns and insights to assist future students interested in your specialty.
NOTE: This is always optional and not required. Your data will only be shared in aggregate, without student identifiers.
ICYMI: Consider helping with a study of professional identity formation that could help improve curriculum
MS4s, have you been thinking about your professional journey? Researchers would love your feedback on a new framework for professional identity formation in a 45-minute or so Zoom focus group with a non-UW facilitator. The study of how medical students come to think, feel, and act like a physician is being conducted by Jennifer Quaintance, Ph.D., a University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Medicine faculty member, and Maya Sardesai, M.D., UWSOM assistant dean for student development.
An update here on Feb. 15: Dr. Sardesai says, “Thanks to those who have volunteered! We would appreciate just a few more students’ input.”
Researchers hope their findings will help future curriculum design. If you are interested, please email Dr. Quaintance at quaintancej@umkc.edu for more information.
ICYMI: Consider participating in a study of student comfort with disclosure of specialty choice to faculty
A faculty member and medical students at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), are seeking responses from medical students who have completed their core clinical requirements and are in the final phase of their degree program.
“What specialty do you want to match into?” This is a common question for medical students and one for which there is a varying level of comfort in answering. UNR researchers seek to better understand the feelings students have when asked this question, their comfort with answering it and the factors that may impact that comfort.
By better understanding this, researchers say they hope to improve the learning environment and allow for a more open and honest discussion of specialty choice for medical students. Survey link: https://unr.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_byoJWocajpSoTgW.
Financial Aid team suggests a great resource for graduating students
This website from AAMC is a great resource for students who are graduating. It has links and articles for many topics, including money management, what to expect after graduation, the MedLoans Organizer and Calculator (MLOC), Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), repayment plans and more!
ICYMI: Home financing workshop is Feb. 20, 2024
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is sponsoring a webinar on Feb. 20, 2024, “Home Financing for Medical Students and Residents,” at 9 a.m. AK, 10 a.m. PT, 11 a.m. MT. The webinar will be about ways to find the best home financing for graduating medical students and residents, with information about what mortgage loans are available for doctors (including special no money down home loans) and budgeting for a home purchase.
Learn more and register at this link.
In case you missed it, here is the previous newsletter for MS4s.
Have a wonderful week!