Update from Leadership
Dear Colleagues,
It’s hard to believe we’re already well into the 2026 AAMC Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS®) September residency cycle. Interviews are underway, and participation remains strong, with more than 48,000 applicants submitting MyERAS® applications to more than 4,800 programs. Our strategic partner, Thalamus, has already scheduled more than 500,000 interviews across more than 45 specialties and multiple common release dates.
Many residency programs are already turning to data to inform their recruitment efforts. If you’re interested in early September cycle insights, I hope you will take a few minutes to explore the reimagined ERAS Statistics page. Launched last month, the new dashboards make it easier than ever to track application activity and trends as they unfold. We’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the community, have seen thousands of downloads, and look forward to sharing updated data each month as the cycle continues. The next data update is coming next week!
To dive a little deeper, you can also watch the recording of our recent webinar, The Data Landscape: Continuing to Deliver Insights with the New ERAS Statistics Dashboard and Thalamus Data Analytics. It highlights the new dashboards and Thalamus analytics, showcasing how data can guide your team’s strategies throughout the season.
Looking ahead, I hope to see many of you in San Antonio for Learn Serve Lead 2025: The AAMC Annual Meeting. Please stop by the ERAS program breakout session (details below), or AAMC Market Square, to say hello and share your experiences from this cycle. These in-person conversations always provide valuable insight into how we can best support your work throughout the year.
Thank you for your continued engagement and input as we move through another exciting recruitment season. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or suggestions.
Patrick Fritz
AAMC Senior Director for Residency and Fellowship Services
Join Us at Learn Serve Lead 2025
We hope to see you Nov. 1-5 at Learn Serve Lead 2025: The AAMC Annual Meeting. Please take time to visit the ERAS team in the AAMC Market Square just outside the exhibit hall (we’ll be in the section under “Your AAMC Services: Strengthening the Learner Journey and Beyond”) and meet our collaborators in the Exhibit Hall at the Thalamus booth.
You’re also invited to join us for a breakout session, ERAS: Our Continuing Focus on the Future, on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 a.m. CT in HBGCC Room 217. We’ll share key takeaways from the 2025 ERAS season, early insights on what we’re seeing in 2026, and preview what’s ahead for the 2027 season, highlighting continuing progress toward a more transparent, efficient, and effective process.
AAMC Updates Academic Contributions Section of 2027 MyERAS® Application
The AAMC is revising the 2027 MyERAS application to improve the way residency and fellowship applicants share their research and scholarly activities. When the season opens in June 2026, ERAS residency and fellowship applicants will see the section formerly called “Publications” renamed “Scholarly Work.” The section will feature a streamlined list of options for scholarly works, enable applicants to highlight their most meaningful academic and research outputs, and build a narrative about those outputs.
These changes will also allow programs to better incorporate applicants’ academic work into their holistic review processes. Medical school advisors, residency and fellowship teams, and future applicants can learn more about these changes by viewing the recording of the 2027 MyERAS Enhancements: Highlighting Research and Scholarly Work webinar.
ERAS System Updates Scheduled for Nov. 1-2
To ensure our systems are ready for the December fellowship cycle, all AAMC systems, including the MyERAS application, the Dean’s Office WorkStation (DWS), and the Program Director’s WorkStation (PDWS), will undergo routine updates. Please plan ahead, as these systems will be unavailable from Saturday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. ET through Sunday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. ET. We appreciate your patience as we work to enhance your experience for the upcoming cycle.
During this update period, programs may continue to use Thalamus Core and Cortex, as well as the Cerebellum Data & Analytics Dashboard.
Join the ERAS Residency and Fellowship Recruitment Community
The Residency and Fellowship Recruitment Community has replaced the PDWS Community Site and has relocated to the AAMC Virtual Communities Network. This new community offers an easy-to-use discussion forum where ERAS users can connect, engage, and share best practices. Through this community, you have access to webinar recordings, tutorials, job aids, and user guides that cover everything from a basic overview of the PDWS to pre-season prep, filters, and more.
Log in or create your new account on the AAMC Virtual Communities Network to access the community. After your new account is approved, look for the Residency and Fellowship Recruitment Community in the list of "My Communities" at the top of the page to join. We look forward to seeing you there!
What We’re Hearing About the ERAS Program
My pathology program uses ERAS and VSLO® for the application process for residency, fellowships, and medical student rotations. They are always efficient, reliable, and make our processes run smoothly!
— Melissa Erb, Program Manager, Geisinger College of Health Sciences
Meet Thalamus at Learn Serve Lead!
Thalamus will be in San Antonio for Learn Serve Lead on Nov. 1-5. Stop by booth #1301 in the exhibit hall to connect with the team and explore tools that support your residency recruitment process.
Join Jason Reminick, MD, MBA, MS, Thalamus CEO and founder, and Shannon Krewsky product enablement manager, for a discussion on Implementing Holistic Review with Cortex on Monday, Nov. 3, at 3:30 p.m. CT. In this session, attendees will learn practical strategies for applying holistic review and selection.
The Thalamus team will also be at the ERAS session, ERAS: Our Continuing Focus on the Future, on Monday morning.
Introducing Mission-Aligned Selection and Retention
The AAMC has updated its Holistic Review program in response to feedback from the academic medicine community. This work has been renamed Mission-Aligned Selection and Retention to reflect a clearer focus on aligning recruitment, assessment, and learner support with institutional missions. Mission-aligned selection emphasizes using a program’s mission to define merit and identify applicants whose competencies, attributes, and experiences best fit program goals, while mission-aligned retention focuses on building systems that help admitted learners thrive. This change captures how programs are aligning admissions and student support with desired outcomes in patient care, workforce development, and community health. There is no change to the AAMC’s commitment to advancing holistic admissions and retention principles, and core principles, tools, and resource contents will remain the same. Read more.
New Resource Page on Use of Artificial Intelligence in AAMC Service Programs
The AAMC is leading efforts to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance tools and services to better support learners, medical schools, and academic health systems. By integrating AI responsibly and transparently, the association aims to improve access to information, streamline processes, and deliver more personalized and efficient experiences across academic medicine. Read more.
New from the AAMC: AI Policy Development Checklist for Medical Education
The AAMC created a checklist to help institutions develop or update their policies around the use of AI by learners, faculty, and staff. Informed by data from the 2024 AAMC and American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) Curriculum Structure, Content, Organization, Process, Evaluation (SCOPE) Survey, the checklist outlines steps institutions can take to develop AI policies and includes links to existing policies at medical schools that can serve as models. Read more.
Expanded FAQs on the Evolution of AAMC Affinity Groups Now Published
The AAMC has published updated and expanded frequently asked questions to provide additional details and answer constituent questions about the evolution of AAMC affinity groups. Beginning July 1, 2026, the AAMC will transition the structure of its affinity groups to be even more collaborative, easier to navigate, and better aligned with the priorities of constituents and the association. This evolution will expand opportunities to bring more constituents together, amplify collective voices, and provide a clearer path for engagement. As previously shared, these changes do not impact the structure of the AAMC’s governance councils and organizations, including the Council of Deans, Council of Academic Health System Executives, Council of Faculty and Academic Societies, Organization of Resident Representatives, Organization of Student Representatives, and Government Relations Representatives. Read more.
AAMC Infographic Highlights Data from the Medical School Class of 2025
As recent medical school graduates start the next step of their journey into a career in medicine, the AAMC has developed an infographic that looks at the accomplishments, traits, and aspirations of the graduating class of 2025 from premed through medical school. Read more.
Reminder: Visiting Student Learning Opportunities™ (VSLO®) System Will Close Temporarily for Modernization
The current VSLO system will be closed to all users beginning on Monday, Nov. 10. Please note: Only three calendar years of institutions' application data will be available in the modernized VSLO system. Users that need application data beyond the three-year calendar window must download data prior to Monday, Nov. 10.
Institution users will gain access to the new system on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at which time they will have the opportunity to review and confirm that their institution’s data and user privileges have been accurately transferred. Students will be able to access the VSLO system on Monday, Dec.15, if they were invited to the VSLO system by their Home institution. We look forward to showcasing the modernized system during the VSLO Service Update at Learn Serve Lead!
Recent Webinar Recordings
2027 MyERAS Enhancements: Highlighting Research and Scholarly Work
Recording
The Data Landscape: Continuing to Deliver Insights with the New ERAS Statistics Dashboard and Thalamus Data Analytics
Recording
ERAS PDWS Q&A Session
Recording
Join the ERAS Team
2025 Society of Academic Associations of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine Annual Meeting
Nov. 7-8, 2025, Chicago
ERAS-focused session: ERAS-Thalamus Update, Nov. 7, 1:10 p.m. CT
SUO AADO OPDO 2025 Otolaryngology Combined Meeting
Nov. 7-8, Washington, DC
24th Annual Pain Medicine Meeting
Nov. 13-15, Austin, Texas
Council of Medical Specialty Societies Annual Meeting 2025
Includes Organization of Program Director Associations (OPDA) Fall Meeting (Nov. 19)
Nov. 18-21, Washington, DC
Learn Serve Lead: Highlighted Transition to Residency Sessions
*View the agenda for more details on each session below.
VSLO Service Update
Sunday, Nov. 2, 7-8 a.m. CT
Innovative Approaches to Assessment and Feedback in Residency Training
Sunday, Nov. 2, 10:30-11:30 a.m. CT
Leveraging National Data for Continuous Quality Improvement in Medical Education
Sunday, Nov. 2, 10:30-11:30 a.m. CT
Informed Advising: Leveraging Data for Career and Residency Match Success
Sunday, Nov. 2, 1:15-2:15 p.m. CT
Leveraging Residency ExplorerTM, Careers in Medicine®, and FREIDA: Resident and Applicant Insights
Sunday, Nov. 2, 3-4 p.m. CT
ERAS: Our Continuing Focus on the Future
Monday, Nov. 3, 7-8:15 a.m. CT
Exploring the Effects of Program Signaling on Interview Invitation and Match Outcomes
Monday, Nov. 3, 10:15-11:15 a.m. CT
Deconstructing the MSPE: Imagining Future Scenarios for the Transition to Residency
Monday, Nov. 3, 3:30-4:30 p.m. CT
Implementing Holistic Review with Cortex
Monday, Nov. 3, 3:30-4:30 p.m. CT
AAMC Services Update for Advisors: Leveraging CiM, VSLO, Residency Explorer and DWS to Support the Transition to Residency
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 7-8:15 a.m. CT
Building Foundations for AI Success: Data Infrastructure and Culture for Effective Implementation
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 10:15-11:15 a.m. CT
Impacts of Pass-Fail Score Reporting on Residency Selection
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2-3 p.m. CT
National Collaborative Efforts to Enhance the Transition to Residency
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 3:30-4:30 p.m. CT