Updates from ERAS Leadership
Dear Colleagues,
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a month since we celebrated a very successful start to the 2025 ERAS® residency season. Our systems remain strong and effectively ensuring data is secure, timely, and readily available as we move into interview season and prepare for meetings later this fall. As we look forward to more successes in the months to come, I wanted to share three brief takeaways:
- Preliminary 2025 ERAS residency season data are available on the ERAS Statistics webpage, alongside 2025 fellowship preliminary data. We will update these numbers monthly.
- The AAMC-Thalamus application programming interface (API) is simplifying processes as we planned. Over 20 million authorizations have been sent through the API so far this season, and the single sign-on is streamlining applicant and program users’ access to Thalamus products.
- Over 415,000 interview invitations have already been sent to residency applicants. With over 90% of residency programs using the Thalamus mobile app, applicants can now respond to invitations more easily, enjoying a streamlined experience.
The AAMC and Thalamus are concentrating on and reinvesting in resources, advocacy, research, and technology exclusively for the academic medicine community. Through this partnership, the collective expertise and potential impact on the future physician workforce is unparalleled.
There’s much more to come in the weeks and months ahead. We can’t wait to share more updates with you and to engage with you, either during meetings (including Learn Serve Lead 2024: the AAMC Annual Meeting) or through your feedback, comments, and suggestions.
Patrick Fritz
AAMC Senior Director for Residency and Fellowship Services
ERAS® Analytics for Institutions Users Upgrading to Thalamus Cerebellum
Any ERAS program-participating institutions that have been using ERAS Analytics for Institutions can now access the data and metrics available through the Thalamus Cerebellum Data & Analytics Dashboard.
As a reminder, ERAS Analytics for Institutions has been retired as of Oct. 30 and reports within the site are now discontinued.
ERAS System Updates Set for Nov. 1-2
To ensure our systems are ready for the December fellowship cycle, all AAMC applications, including the MyERAS® application, the DWS, and the PDWS, will undergo routine updates. Please plan ahead, as these systems will be briefly unavailable from Friday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. ET through Saturday, Nov. 2 at 5 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. They may also use the Cerebellum Data & Analytics Dashboard.
Thalamus Wins 2024 NEXT Award for Entrepreneurs
We’re sending a big congratulations to Thalamus on winning a 2024 NEXT Award from the Nashville Entrepreneur Center! Thalamus CEO and Founder Jason Reminick accepted the award for the health care category, which recognizes entrepreneurs who are transforming industries (view his acceptance speech). We’re immensely proud to work with Jason and the entire Thalamus team who share the AAMC’s commitment to improving the transition to residency for applicants, schools, and programs.
New Webinar Series on Thalamus Holistic Review Scoring Management Launches This Week
Join the Thalamus team on Nov. 1 for the first in a series of online deep dives into applicant screening and evaluation using their new scoring system. Register now.
Thalamus Product Updates: Cortex
As of Oct. 11, Thalamus has updated Cortex’s application status feature, including:
- Program directors, administrators, and coordinators may now see both the My Recommendation Status as well as the Overall Application Status on the Applications tab.
- Enhanced Status Filters allow program users to sort applicants by different statuses.
Check out this blog announcement for more information.
In Case You Missed It: Thalamus Transcript Normalization in Cortex
On Sept. 28, Thalamus introduced transcript normalization within Cortex, simplifying the applicant review process for programs. To learn more, check out the full article.
Reminder: Help Your Applicants Leverage the Residency Explorer™ Tool During Interview Season
As your applicants enter interview season, remind them that the Residency Explorer™ tool remains a valuable resource. It can help them prepare thoughtful questions, stand out in interviews, and assess which programs best align with their goals. With features like program characteristics, resident demographics, research opportunities, and unique offerings (e.g., global health tracks), applicants can feel more confident and well-prepared.
Encourage your applicants to explore the tool throughout their interview process to make the most informed decisions. Learn more at residencyexplorer.org.
November Webinars Aimed at Helping Advisors Prepare Students for Away Rotations
The AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities™ (VSLO®) program will host two webinars, Away Rotations 101 for Advisors: Preparing Students for the 2025 Application Season, to kick off the upcoming away rotation season for the advising community:
Registration is also available on the AAMC webinars page.
Additionally, we will be hosting a new student training on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. ET. This one-hour training will provide students with an overview of the VSLO application service. We will address common student questions and walk through the dashboard and application. Registration will open in early November and institutions and students will be notified ahead of time.
Careers in Medicine® Specialty Profiles Now Feature New Data
Specialty signaling and geographic preference data from previous residency application cycles and their impact on interview invitations are now available for select specialties (sign-in required). Additionally, for specialties participating in signaling for the upcoming 2025 ERAS® season, the CiM specialty profiles now display the number and percentage of programs participating from that specialty, as well as the number of signals available to applicants.
These and other data provided within the specialty profiles offer important insights to help students explore and compare specialties, consider their competitiveness, and create their application strategy and/or parallel plan.
AAMC Webinar on Helping Students Navigate Critical Junctures of Medical Education
The AAMC will host a webinar on Nov. 20 from 2-3 p.m. ET, Navigating Critical Junctures: Residency Application and Interview Preparation, aimed at fostering collaboration between student affairs and educational affairs. The session will focus on specialty decision planning, preparations and support for away rotations, and interview preparation and graduate medical education (GME) collaboration, and will feature a panel discussion and time for Q&A. This event is part of a year-long series on Holistic Student Support and is open to all. Questions can be sent to holisticreview@aamc.org.
New AAMC Artificial Intelligence (AI) Resource Collections Seeking Submissions
The AAMC recognizes the growing importance of AI across academic medicine and is committed to fostering innovation. Help move the field forward by submitting your work to two new AI resource collections published by the AAMC. The Advancing AI Across Academic Medicine Resource Collection will be available next year and will feature early educational materials, promising practices, policies, and pilot projects. The goal is to advance collaboration and knowledge sharing and spark innovative thinking. Submit your resources. The MedEdPORTAL AI Education Collection is intended for fully developed innovations that have already been implemented and evaluated. This collection will highlight the work of all those who are driving AI education towards improved patient care. Submit your teaching and learning resources.
Events and Resources
- Register Now: ERAS PDWS Q&A Webinar
Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. ET - Recording Available: ERAS PDWS Q&A Webinar
- Register Now: Learn Serve Lead 2024: The AAMC Annual Meeting