ERAS is committed to supporting a high standard of integrity throughout the application process for residency and fellowship positions. Unethical behavior is strongly discouraged and will be thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately. To ensure fairness in the application process, ERAS has developed a formalized investigations policy.
ERAS Investigations Process
Step One
A complaint is initiated by providing relevant information to ERAS in writing (erasinvestigations@aamc.org) regarding the alleged unethical behavior.
Step Two
ERAS staff investigates the allegation by collecting information pertaining to the complaint from parties alleging irregular behavior.
Step Three
The applicant is informed of the allegation in writing and is given two (2) weeks to respond in writing to the allegation, providing relevant supporting information and facts.
Step Four
A Preliminary Report is created and AAMC's legal counsel reviews the findings and approves distribution of the Preliminary Report.
Step Five
The Preliminary Report is distributed to the applicant with two (2) weeks to respond in writing to the findings "for the record." Applicant may provide additional information to include in Final Report.
Step Six
A Final Report of findings is distributed to interested parties (applicant, designated dean's office, applied to programs) and includes any written response provided by the applicant.
Step Seven
The applicant is added to the ERAS database of violators to the Integrity Promotion Policy and reports are distributed to each program to which the applicant applies - in the current season, as well as in the future. This information is also shared with ERAS' sister program FindAResident (FAR).
Note: If an applicant is considered a violator in ERAS, he/she will be identified as an ERAS violator in FAR system. Applicants with an outstanding ERAS balance will not be permitted to use FAR until the balance is paid in full.
The AAMC Polices and Procedures for Investigation Reported Violations of Residency/Fellowship Application Standards (PDF) outlines the details of the Investigations Policy.