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- #Example noteworthy characteristics medschool how to#
- #Example noteworthy characteristics medschool code#
The bullet points are also a place to share anecdotal information that might not appear on a CV, such as a unique hardship overcome during medical school. Foreign languages, volunteer work completed during med school (medical or non-medical), global mission trips, publications and presentations at conferences are all impressive things to highlight.
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If you are able to write your own characteristics, start by making a concise list of your strongest traits, then sit down and talk with your advisor about which ones to include, says Józia McGowan, DO, who assists in writing MSPEs at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine. At other schools, deans will write them for students based on their knowledge of the student.
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Some schools allow students to write their own noteworthy characteristics for the MSPE, which are usually three bullet points that are unique to the student. In a 2017 study about the differences in words used to describe racial and gender groups in MSPEs, researchers found white applicants were more likely to be described using standout keywords such as “exceptional,” “best,” and “outstanding,” while black applicants were more likely to be described as “competent.” The study examined applicants from 134 MD schools who had applied to Yale School of Medicine residency programs. The recommendation is that if you use adjectives like that, you have to give some reason why and context to justify it,” says John Graneto, DO, AACOM-appointed AAMC MSPE Task Force member. “We all know that not everyone can be excellent. By 2017, however, only 9% of schools used code-word adjectives without explaining them.
#Example noteworthy characteristics medschool code#
However, many schools did not provide a school-wide comparison to give context to these code words or explain what it truly meant to be called a “good” student on the MSPE. The recommendations are available here.īefore AAMC’s new recommendations came out in 2016, 24% of schools used an adjective, also known as a code word, such as “good” or “great” to rank students on the MSPE.
#Example noteworthy characteristics medschool how to#
In June 2020, the AAMC released special recommendations that advised schools on how to address COVID-19’s disruptions to medical education in students’ MSPEs.
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Also, the new guidelines sought to emphasize student attributes that didn’t quite fit anywhere else in the residency application. Previously, there were inconsistencies among MSPEs when it came to language used, letter format and clarity. The new guidelines attempted to make the MPSE more uniform across institutions. About 90% of student affairs deans surveyed took steps to introduce the new guidelines for the 2018 match. In 2016, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) introduced new recommendations for MSPE letter writers for the first time since 2002. However, it’s up to individual schools to incorporate the new guidelines, and different program directors use the MPSE in different ways. Below, learn more about how this document impacts your residency application. The MSPE has recently been revamped to make it easier for program directors to evaluate students. Its purpose is to give residency program directors an objective summary of a student’s time in med school. The MSPE, also referred to as the dean’s letter, provides a summary of a medical student’s achievements and academic accomplishments. Editor’s note: This article was updated on June 11, 2021, to share new recommendations for addressing COVID-related disruptions to medical education in the MSPE.Īfter perfecting personal statements, completing clerkships, requesting letters of recommendation, submitting transcripts and COMLEX-USA/USMLE scores, the final piece of the residency application puzzle is the MSPE, or Medical Student Performance Evaluation.
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