Students with questions about different medical specialties and plans for their careers are encouraged to reach out to advisers designated by each department, academic staff in Office of Student and Academic Affairs (OSAA) and faculty in their respective program.
Session to introduce residency application process, CV, personal statement, MSPE (“Dean’s Letter”) discussion
Meet with Office of Student and Academic Affairs Deans to review career plans, noteworthy characteristics for MSPE
Class meetings to review residency application and Match processes
Complete and submit ERAS application. Residency interviews begin (typically run from October-January)
Residency program interviews continue. Rank list due in February
Match Day: mid-March
Most students will be applying to residency via the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS).
The Office of Student and Academic Affairs provides support to students during their application to residency programs. An ERAS token will be issued to you early in your fourth year of medical school that will allow you to gain access to the ERAS.
The MSPE, also known as a dean's letter, will be an important part of your application and will be discussed with you during spring of your third year. A meeting between you and one of the Student and Academic Affairs deans will be scheduled during the spring of your third year. There will also be time to review your MSPE before it is submitted during your fourth year (fall semester).
Contained within the MSPE, a maximum of three characteristics highlighting your most salient noteworthy characteristics is required. This section should be presented as a bulleted list. Each characteristic should be described in 2 sentences or less. Information about any significant challenges or hardships encountered by you during medical school may be included.
A residency CV is an important document that is used to highlight your experience and training in a succinct, easy to understand format. You will use the information in your CV to fill out either the ERAS residency application or other matching applications. The main goal of a residency CV is to showcase your most significant academic and extracurricular achievements, leaving a lasting, positive, first impression to those who review it. Essentially, your CV should convince residency directors that you are exactly what they are looking for and are a strong match for their residency program. Not only is having an up-to-date CV important for applying to residency and crafting your personal statement, but it's also important for filling out rotation applications and when securing letters of recommendation from physicians.
You need at least three letters of recommendation per residency, and you can submit up to four per residency. You can check school-specific requirements on the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA).
The residency personal statement should include and reflect:
Ultimately, the combination of these elements will give program directors a sense of the kind of colleague you would be and how you would fit into their program.
ERAS is the system through which you will submit all of your residency application materials, while the NRMP is the organization that facilitates the actual matching process, once all of your documents have been submitted to your programs of interest.
Students applying to Opthalmology, Plastic Surgery or the military match should contact/notify the Office of Student and Academic Affairs for questions/guidance and if you require components of your education record for Plastic Surgery Common Application (PSCA), San Francisco Residency and Fellowship Match Services (SF Match) or military match.
If you have any questions please contact: omeregistrar@buffalo.edu