Match Day is almost here, and the Office of Student and Professional Development (OSPD) at Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) has been hard at work for months helping making sure students’ personal statements are top-notch, their interview skills are as sharp as they can get, and that they’re applying for residency placements best suited to their individual skills, career goals, and personal interests.
“Applying for residency can be a complicated process for those who aren’t familiar with it,” says Gary Belotzerkovsky, assistant dean of clinical student affairs. “Our team has years of experience working directly with students applying for the National Resident Matching Program, and we’re here to help each individual maximize their results during the residency process.”
In terms of residency prep, OSPD is divided up into three distinct sections—career development, writing, and licensing/credentialing.
Career Development and Advising
OSPD career advisors start guiding RUSM students early, during their time in Internal Medicine Foundations (the six-week-long clerkship that marks each student’s entry into RUSM’s clinical sciences curriculum). OSPD is with them for students’ full two years of clinicals, and when it’s time to prepare for residency, advisors assist students by providing them with information on what medical specialty fits them best.
“Each student has his or her individual strengths, and part of the career advisors’ work involves pinpointing those strengths and helping them select the medical specialty that fits them best,” Belotzerkovsky says. “That’s a big part of our job—making sure that a student’s residency of choice aligns not just with their academic strengths, but with their personal interests as well.”
After the applications are in, though, career advisors help even more by conducting mock residency interviews with students, either in person at RUSM’s Miramar location, or via Skype® or telephone. For students who do not attain a residency through the NRMP© Main Residency Match, career advisors help students find other job or placement options while waiting for the next cycle.
OSPD Writers
You may not have known this, but applying for residency involves lots of supporting documentation. Luckily, students can count on the OSPD’s writing team to help them out.
For Students: OSPD writers review and edit students’ personal statements and curriculum vitae (CV). These important documents are both required to apply to graduate medical education programs, and the OSPD team is charged with helping ensure they’re as polished as possible.
For Residency Program Directors: The OSPD writing team is also in charge of collecting information for, and drafting, a student’s Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE), an important part of the residency application process. The MSPE is an important part of each student’s academic record, and traces their performance in medical school starting from year one.
The OSPD team will upload all official documentation, including academic transcripts and the MSPE, to the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). That’s the official application service used to submit residency applications for Caribbean medical schools.
Licensing and Credentialing Department
This department works closely with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) to make sure all RUSM graduates are ECFMG-certified. ECFMG certification is required before any international medical graduate can start residency in the US—it’s also a requirement to take the United States Medical Licensure Examination® (USMLE) Step 3.
Then, when it comes time for graduates to attain licensure in any of the 50 US states and Puerto Rico, the OSPD’s licensing/credentialing analysts are on hand to complete those tasks on graduates’ behalf. “We also work with our alumni and credential them for new hospital jobs or for new state licensure,” Belotzerkovsky says.
As Match Day approaches, be sure to check the RUSM blog and website for NRMP results, graduate profiles, success stories, and more.
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