CaRMS application questions already...

[juicyprunes]

OK...it's that time of year and I have some questions about the following:

 

For the "electives" section on the CaRMS application, is there anything in particular that we're supposed to be putting down other than just a general overview of what the elective was about? (e.g. "Neurology elective - spent 2 weeks on general neurology with exposure to inpatient care, consults, and outpatient clinics")

 

Would a reference letter from a preceptor in my specialty of interest from another school (e.g. School A) be useful for applying to my home school or any other school. Or, should I just be using it for school A?

[blinknoodle]

I was more descriptive with my electives.. throw in those active verbs, team player, yada yada

 

Reference letters from away schools are very useful as it shows that more than one institution found you appealing. A golden reference letter is best, wherever it is from, but diversity is important as well, whether from a different institution, a different setting like research (moreso if a research intensive program), or from even diversity electives (a team player while on CTU sounds great). It all depends how many letters you can submit and what they ask for.

[street_med]

Hi

 

I'm in the middle of generating cover letters to send to my referees...I have an internist writing me a letter for my application to radiology...should I generate a generic (non-discipline specific) cover letter for him or a radiology specific letter?

 

Thanks

[Lactic Folly]

If you think it's a strong letter, use it everywhere. Specialty fields are small communities and it's likely that your referee (esp. if academic) will be known elsewhere.

[Lactic Folly]

street_med: If you are having your internist write you just one letter for radiology, I would say go ahead and have them personalize it for radiology. Of course, if you are applying to multiple disciplines, you may want to go with a generic letter to minimize the work for your referee.

[street_med]

LF,

 

I'm only applying for radiology (fingers crossed...hopefully works out!) so I guess I can get him to personalize the letter for radiology. On a related note, this might be program specific, but do you think it's better to submit 3 fairly strong rads references or 2 rads and 1 fairly strong internist reference. I know programs like Manitoba require one non-radiology reference letter however most programs don't specify so what would you do in this situation?

 

Thanks as always

 

street_med

[sarakj]

Hello All

Just to F/U on CaRMs process, I was wondering for the description of the electives or volunteer activities, is it better to write in full sentences or point forms are ok as well. Also, would someone comment a bit more on the description content for each elective.. I know blinknoodle comment a few word,, would appreciate more info..

Thanks a lot

Sara Kj

[Lactic Folly]

sm: Above all, submit your strongest reference letters. If you think they are equally strong, then give some thought as to whether they describe different aspects of your strengths (the contexts in which you have worked with your referees), and whether the referee is known to the program to which you are applying. I didn't have 3 letters for my specialty, so I wasn't in this situation, but I would probably submit slightly varying combinations to different programs based on the above factors. You can do perfectly well with a single strong radiology letter, so I would lean toward including an internist letter as it would be useful to show your ability to work in a direct patient care setting. However, perhaps your radiology references know you personally outside of the regular observational elective, and it won't hurt to have a chorus of known and respected people in the field vouching for you (and your clerkship evaluations would provide a picture of your clinical abilities). You could try talking to your local PD or your referees for their thoughts on whether 3 radiology letters is a good or bad thing.

[Lactic Folly]

Hello All

Just to F/U on CaRMs process, I was wondering for the description of the electives or volunteer activities, is it better to write in full sentences or point forms are ok as well. Also, would someone comment a bit more on the description content for each elective.. I know blinknoodle comment a few word,, would appreciate more info..

Thanks a lot

Sara Kj

 

As long as the description is clear and grammatically correct, it should be fine. I believe I wrote mine resume-style (Did such and such.)

 

I'm not sure how important the elective descriptions are - again they should be clear and mistake-free, but if it's a standard elective they will probably be more interested in the evaluation you received as they should already have a good idea of what a typical elective student does. I think I borrowed heavily from my school's electives catalogue descriptions. Of course, if your elective was unique, or you did things above and beyond (giving talks, etc.), you should detail those items.