Residency Training Director Michael Schwartz MD served as a member of a
workgroup of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric
Residency Training which recently published a set of guidelines for the
application process for general psychiatric residency and for transfers
between residency training programs. The workgroup aimed to identify
processes that provide the best opportunity for applicants to find
programs that fit their interests and for residency programs to find the
best qualified applicants.
The guidelines discuss the initial
application process through the Electronic Residency Application Service
(ERAS®). They advise applicants that programs are most likely to
consider medical school performance, which is generally summarized in
the Dean’s Letter, the applicant’s personal statement, letters of
recommendation, USMLE scores and other activities such as research,
community service and life experience.
A section on interviews
advises that programs should confirm receipt of applications within a
month, that applicants should make every effort to keep interview
appointments and, if they need to cancel, to do so at least two weeks in
advance. The section includes practical advice for interviewees about
how to conduct themselves during the interview.
A section on the
National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) gives guidance about how
applicants and programs should interact during and after the interview.
Applicants and programs may express interest in each other, but they
cannot establish a contract or expectation of a contract until the
results of the match are published. Programs may choose to tell
candidates how they will rank them, but may not ask applicants how they
will rank their institutions.
Transfers between residency
programs, including transfers into subspecialty programs, require
communication between the current program director and the “receiving”
director. Residents are advised to inform their current directors before
beginning negotiations with another program, and program directors are
advised to discuss the applicant with the current director and to check
with the NRMP before offering a position.
The guidelines were published in the November-December issue of Academic Psychiatry in an article titled Guidelines for the General Psychiatry Application Process and for Inter-Residency Transitions.
