Updates from Leadership
Dear Colleagues,
The September Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS®) residency cycle is underway! We’re happy to report that the Sept. 4 applicant opening and last week’s program opening were tremendous successes, and we can’t wait to share the data and analytics that we are gathering with you throughout the season. This is an especially exciting ERAS residency cycle for the AAMC as it is the first one following our full integration with Thalamus. Here are just a few highlights:
- Nearly 90% of ERAS residency programs are using Thalamus this season.
- Millions of applications and data points have been processed and shared with programs following the launch of the application programming interface (API). It was a huge success!
- More than 4,300 ERAS applicants are receiving Fee Assistance Program benefits that reduce their application fees by 60% on their first 50 applications.
- Our new pricing model has reduced costs for all applicants.
Having access to rich data and analytics tools is a key component of success for any organization. The AAMC continues to improve the data resources it offers to specialties, institutions, programs, and medical schools. A few examples include:
- Earlier than ever before, everyone can access the final 2024 residency and preliminary 2025 fellowship data in Excel instead of PDF files through the ERAS Statistics page.
- Programs can use Cerebellum, a powerful new data and analytics dashboard from Thalamus. Learn more about this innovative product below.
- Institutional leaders who found value in ERAS Analytics for DIOs will now also be able to use Cerebellum to generate reports that support planning, decision-making, and progress toward meeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals.
- Medical school advisors and other career guidance professionals can use Dean’s Office WorkStation (DWS) Analytics for Schools — now with even more detail and data from Thalamus — to support students on their journey to residency.
As always, I welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions, and I hope to see some of you at the National Resident Matching Program ® (NRMP ®) conference in Louisville, Kentucky, later this week.
Patrick Fritz
AAMC Senior Director for Residency and Fellowship Services
More 2024 and 2025 ERAS Statistics Now Available!
The ERAS Statistics webpage has been updated with final data from the 2024 ERAS residency and fellowship seasons, preliminary 2025 ERAS fellowship data, historical data, and more. It also features 2025 MyERAS Content Research Updates and 2024 ERAS Audience Survey Results.
The statistics webpage is intended to provide useful data to all members of the transition to residency community and it will be updated throughout the year.
Getting Started with Thalamus
- Download the Getting Started with Thalamus Checklist today to begin preparing your program.
- Once you begin building your Thalamus program, use the Thalamus Roadmap Checklist as a running checklist during the recruitment season.
New Thalamus Training Videos
Check out these updated course videos to support your program’s recruitment preparation this season.
The following videos are available on the Thalamus Knowledge Base and are built into courses within the Thalamus University Online Academy:
- Program Setup & Introduction;
- Email Templates & Applicant Surveys;
- Importing Applicants & Managing Data;
- Itinerary Builder;
- Thalamus Holistic Review: Course 1A Scoring Administration (must be taken before Course 1B); and
- Thalamus Holistic Review: Course 1B Scoring your Applicants.
Cerebellum Data & Analytics Dashboard
Cerebellum is the first-of-its-kind data and analytics dashboard created to optimize efficient graduate medical education (GME) recruitment practices and promote DEI across programs and institutions. Cerebellum draws upon data from Thalamus and Cortex – and now the ERAS program – to provide enhanced reporting and outcomes measures for residency and fellowship programs benchmarked against specialty-wide results.
- Program Summary Statistics: Automatic end-of-season recruitment analytics providing analysis and comparison of GME program recruitment performance from multiple perspectives.
- DEI Recruitment Outcomes: Analysis and comparison of DEI recruitment performance.
- Geographical Recruitment Outcomes: Mapping of applicant density for all programs in the same specialty with overlay of program applicant data. Filtering and dynamic expansion when zooming in on the map provide detail down to an individual applicant’s zip code level.
- Interview Invitation and Completion Insights: Compare your interview invitation and completion timelines against other programs in your specialty to see time series performance.
Cerebellum Resources
- Cerebellum User Guides
- Live Trainings: Cerebellum for Programs &and Cerebellum for Institutions
- Snippet Videos: Filtering Data in Cerebellum &and Adding Users and Enabling Cerebellum
It’s Time for Applicants to Prepare for Residency Interviews
Interviews give applicants and programs an opportunity to learn more about each other, but the process can be complicated. With some preparation, applicants can ensure they get the most from their residency interviews. Please encourage them to use these AAMC interview resources.
Advising Y4 Students through the Residency Application Process with the Careers in Medicine® (CiM®) Program
To help advisors support fourth-year students through the residency application process, the CiM program provides advising checklists and to-do lists, an applicant tracking toolkit, a curriculum map for year 4, and more (advisor sign-in required). The program also supports specialty advisors with resources specific to specialty advising. Finally, it helps schools prepare all parties for all potential outcomes of the residency application cycle.
Join the VSLO® Program: Learn How the VSLO Program Streamlines the Away Rotation Process
Is your institution interested in hosting medical students for short-term away rotation opportunities? The Visiting Student Learning Opportunities™ (VSLO®) program helps students find away rotation opportunities at sites outside their Home institutions. Learn how your institution will benefit from joining the VSLO network of more than 300 medical schools and teaching hospitals, located in the United States and internationally. Watch this video, visit our website for more information, and contact us about joining the VSLO program.
Join Us at Learn Serve Lead 2024
Learn Serve Lead 2024: The AAMC Annual Meeting will take place Nov. 8-12 in Atlanta. We hope to see you there! Please take time to visit the ERAS team at the AAMC Pavilion in the Exhibit Hall and meet our collaborators in the Thalamus booth.
You’re also invited to join us for a breakout session, ERAS: Our Continuing Focus on the Future, on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 7 a.m. ET in the GWCC, Building C, Georgia Ballroom 1. We’ll share updates on new content, AAMC enhancements to the Residency Explorer™ tool, continued evaluation of research to support holistic review strategies, and more.
New AAMC Resources on Addressing the Physician Workforce Shortage
The AAMC has developed a new online resource on the critical issue of addressing the looming physician workforce shortage. The collection includes an overview of the topic, links to AAMC data, and other articles and resources on the topic.
Events and Resources
ERAS PDWS Q&A Session
Thursday, Oct. 3, at 1 p.m. ET
2024 Fall Careers in Medicine Workshop
Oct. 24-25, Washington, DC
Establishing and Implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy in GME Recruitment
Webinar Recording
Enhancing Residency Selection With the AAMC Holistic Review Framework
Webinar Recording