The ERAS Fellowships Documents Office (EFDO) serves as the "Designated Dean's Office" for both U.S. medical graduates (USMGs) and international medical graduates (IMGs) applying to fellowship programs.
The EFDO is the central processing office for fellowship application materials submitted via ERAS for all fellowship applicants.
For detailed instructions on document submission to the EFDO, review the following resources.
All documents will take up to five (5) business days to process to ERAS from the date they are uploaded through EFDO Online Services, MIDUS, or the AAMC’s Letter of Recommendation Portal (LoRP).
IMPORTANT NOTE: The EFDO is not permitted to provide copies of documents to applicants or any third parties.
The EFDO will only transmit documents to programs through ERAS.
DOCUMENTS NOT TO SUBMIT
The following documents will NOT be uploaded if submitted:
Curriculum Vitae
In-Service Examination Results other than ABSITE
Medical Diploma
Medical License
Name Change Certificate
NBOME Certificate
Standard ECFMG Certificate
Translation Certificate
Marriage Certificate
Divorce Decree
U.S. Alien Card (Green Card)
USMLE Transcript (printed copy)
CREOG Scores
COMLEX-USA Transcript (printed copy)
Board Certification Certificate
Non-medical School Transcripts
You will need to make special arrangements with programs requesting any of the aforementioned documents.
Listed below is information on the types of documents that you may need to include along with your MyERAS application.
This information can assist you with securing and understanding the documents that are meaningful to fellowship program directors.
If you are applying to a surgical training program, you will also need to submit an ABSITE transcript.
Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) (may not be required by programs)
The Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) (formerly known as the Dean's Letter) evaluates a medical student's performance (rather than providing a recommendation or prediction of future performance).
To submit an MSPE, you should contact your medical school of graduation as soon as possible to request it.
Many medical schools will not release the MSPE to students.
Contact your medical school to verify its policy.
Once you secure the MSPE in PDF file format, you can upload it using the EFDO Online Services link (located in MyERAS under Documents/Additional Documents), or you can request for your medical school to upload the document directly to the EFDO through the Medical Institution Document Upload Service (MIDUS).
For more information on MIDUS, please visit the MIDUS page of this website.
Note: Do not designate the MSPE as an LoR.
You will only need to assign it when you are applying to the program(s).
IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not request a copy of your MSPE from your residency program.
In accordance with the AAMC policy, fellowship applicants are NOT permitted to upload MSPEs that have been printed from the Program Director's Workstation (PDWS).
Moreover, it is against the AAMC policy for residency program directors/administrators to provide fellowship applicants with the printouts of this document type for submission to the EFDO.
Programs will be considered in violation of AAMC policy which may result in negative ramifications. Any print-out documents from the PDWS will NOT be uploaded to your MyERAS application.
Medical School Transcript (may not be required by programs)
Medical school transcripts come in a variety of sizes and formats.
They may also be known as mark sheets, time sheets, or hour sheets.
Ideally, they will help the
program directors get an overview of the subjects you studied in medical school, how long you studied each subject, and how well you did on your exams.
To submit a medical school transcript, you should contact your medical school of graduation as soon as possible to request it.
Once you secure the transcript in PDF file format, you can upload it using EFDO Online Services (located in MyERAS under Documents/Additional Documents), or you can request for your medical school to upload the document directly to the EFDO through the Medical Institution Document Upload Service (MIDUS).
For more information on MIDUS, please visit the MIDUS page of this website.
Note: The transcript should not be printed on "security paper" with a busy background. Such a background will make the scanned image illegible.
Ask your school to copy it on plain paper.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not request a copy of your medical school transcript from your residency program.
In accordance with the AAMC policy, fellowship applicants are NOT permitted to upload medical school transcripts that have been printed from the Program Director's Workstation (PDWS).
Moreover, it is against the AAMC policy for residency program directors/administrators to provide fellowship applicants with the printouts of this document type for submission to the EFDO.
Programs will be considered in violation of AAMC policy which may result in negative ramifications. Any print-out documents from the PDWS will NOT be uploaded to your MyERAS application.
Letters of Recommendation (LoRs)
Obtaining strong LoRs is an essential part of your medical fellowship application.
Your letters should give the fellowship program director a clear picture of your skills and clinical ability.
It is recommended that LoR authors be current physicians familiar with you and your work.
Previous applicants have found it helpful to provide a copy of their CV and personal statements to each of their LoR authors to assist with this process.
It is your responsibility to follow-up with your LoR authors and confirm that LoRs reach the EFDO in time to meet program deadlines.
Only four (4) letters can be assigned/sent to any individual program in MyERAS, but you may upload as many LoRs as you wish to your MyERAS application.
Please contact each program for their LoR requirements.
You are required to create and confirm your LoR request(s) on the Documents/Letters of Recommendation
section of MyERAS prior to submission of LoRs to the EFDO.
You will be able to select whether or not you waive your right to see a particular LoR when you fill out your LoR request form in MyERAS. The decision to waive your right to see your LoRs is between you and your LoR authors.
All LoRs must be uploaded to the EFDO through the AAMC's Letter of Recommendation Portal (LoRP). After you confirm for upload your LoR author, you will be able to email, print, or save the Letter Request Form from MyERAS
to provide to your LoR author. The Letter Request Form will include instructions for accessing the LoRP.
Confirming for Upload LoR Authors:
Log into MyERAS using your AAMC username and password.
Click on "Documents".
Go to "Letters of Recommendation".
Click "Add New"
Enter and save the LoR Author’s information to create your personal list of Authors.
To confirm the LoR Author and generate the Letter ID, select the check box next to each entry in your list, and click “Confirm” located on the right-hand side just above the selected LoR(s).
Once you have confirmed for upload your LoR Authors, you can email, print or save the Letter Request Form, and Assign the LoR to programs from the Actions column.
Keep in mind that in order to assign an LoR to programs, the LoR Author must be confirmed in MyERAS AND the LoR must have a status of 'Uploaded' in MyERAS.
Note: If you confirm for upload an LoR entry that contains an error, you must return to Step 1 and create a new entry and provide the new Letter Request Form to your letter author.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are applying to more than one specialty and intend on submitting a generic, non-specialty specific letter to programs, it is only required that you create and confirm for upload one entry for that particular LoR Author in MyERAS.
You may indicate that the letter is for “All Specialties” in the "Specialty to which this letter will be assigned." field.
Tip: LoR authors should address the letter “Dear Program Director,” and not address the letter to individual program directors or programs. The EFDO cannot process LoRs addressed to specific programs or program directors, and you will be notified through the MyERAS Message Center to obtain a corrected LoR.
Photograph
Programs use your photograph to identify you when you arrive for an interview, and as a memory aid when creating a rank order list.
Your photograph should be a clear, full-front view of your head and shoulders. Your face should be in the middle of the photograph, and your expression should be natural with your eyes open and looking directly ahead.
You may submit one (1) digital photograph in JPEG format and upload it using EFDO Online Services (located in MyERAS under Documents/Additional Documents).
Note: You can view your photograph in your MyERAS application.
Personal Statement Guidelines
There are hundreds of program directors, each with his or her own idea of what a personal statement should contain.
Examples of personal statements should only be used to guide you in writing your own individualized statement.
Using the same language is considered plagiarism.
Such action can lead to an investigation and possibly toward your ineligibility to participate in fellowship training.
Visit ERAS Policies to view information on the ERAS Integrity Promotion Education Program.
Note: Your personal statements can only be created from within MyERAS.
You may use your Personal Statement to add additional information if you have already certified and submitted your MyERAS application.
