Beginning in 2023, residency applicants have been limited to 10 MyERAS application experiences. However, many candidates have more than 10 experiences they would like to include in the ERAS CV.
Here’s a breakdown of how to maximize your allotted space and present a comprehensive snapshot of your background–without leaving anything out.
Each experience entry can include a single item OR a grouping of items presented together.
If you have 3 community volunteer experiences, group them together like this:
Red Cross Community Day, 02/23
Parks and Rec Initiative, 01/22 – 08/22
Heart Health Boot Camp, 03/21 – 05/21
Why this works: Alone, these experiences are not impressive. Together, they show a sustained effort to be involved with and improve your community.
If you have older experiences (before medical school), group them together like this:
Worked with children in a variety of settings (prior to medical school):
Hospital Volunteer, Pediatric Oncology Unit, Broadway Urban Hospital
02/19 – 02/20
Shadowing, Dr. Thomas Smith, Pediatrics
06/18 – 07/18
Childcare Provider, Little Antics Day Care
05/17 – 03/18
Why this works: This grouping lets programs know your interest in medicine, or a specific field, is long-standing and that you’ve explored medicine/the field in a variety of settings.
If you worked to support yourself during high school, undergraduate studies, and/or medical school, group items together like this:
Worked 20-25 hours a week (beginning at age 16) while maintaining strong grades:
Receptionist, Marty’s Construction
05/18 – 05/20
Shelf Stocker, Publix Grocery Store
04/17 – 04/18
Cashier, The Little Store
08/15 – 04/17
Note: Bullet points aren’t needed for items that are self-explanatory.
Why this works: Working and going to school at the same time is challenging and conveys you have a strong work ethic, time management skills, and a strong desire to succeed.
There are other ways to bundle items in the experience section, too. For example, clinical experiences at the same location; experiences focused on the same topic; and research experiences without resulting publications.
Now that you know about bundling experiences to maximize the content in your MyERAS Application, here’s some guidance on how to approach this task!
1. Compile an exhaustive list of your experiences–all of them! Don’t leave anything out at this stage, even non-medical experiences from your undergraduate or pre-medical school years.
Your list should include experiences from these seven categories:
2. Select your 3 most meaningful experiences, and put those at the top of the list.
These will appear as your 1st three CV entries, so they should be selected strategically based on the specialty you’re applying to and/or their uniqueness.
If you have USCE in the field you’re applying to, strongly consider making it one of your meaningful experiences.
It is completely fine to bundle items to create a meaningful experience (i.e., 2 recent USCE experiences, 2 specialty-relevant research experiences).
3. Select any remaining experiences that are robust in nature (will require a high character count to describe) and relevant to the field you’re applying to.
These experiences should be presented as individual entries.
4. Review your remaining experiences and look for entries that would work well if “packaged” together in 1 experience entry.
Group these items together and write an opening statement for the entry that conveys the overall message.
5. Evaluate any outstanding experiences and determine if they should be excluded or combined with another item.
6. Add any items you won’t be including in your CV to your PS working draft and consider discussing them there IF they are notable and will add value to your personal statement.
Want to learn how to create experience descriptions that grab programs’ attention and help you stand out in a sea of competition? Read about a rhetorical approach to the MyERAS application here.
For additional tips on creating a strong ERAS Application, explore Class Act ERAS Consulting’s comprehensive guide here.
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