Our Program:
How To Apply
Requirements
We participate in ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service).
This year, our program will also utilize the Central Application in addition to ERAS.
Central Application was started as a low-cost alternative to ERAS in plastic surgery five years ago and is now used specialty-wide. We are piloting this platform with the hope that in future years, we can remove the financial barriers created by the progressive application fee structures of ERAS, so we ask all applicants to apply to both. As you will see from the questions, Central Application also promotes holistic application review by focusing on quality content rather than quantity. There is no cost for you to use Central Application.
Note that the material submission deadline for the Central Application is 9/16 (which will allow us more time to review applications holistically), but we understand that some of you might need additional time to complete your applications.
You will be guided to create a secure account when you access the platform. From there, you can easily request letters of recommendation, transcripts, and MSPE (Dean’s Letters) directly through the portal. The Match will remain with the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). If you have questions about the Central Application, please contact them at HELP@accessgme.com.
Applicants will need to submit:
- ERAS Application form.
- Central Application.
- Curriculum Vitae.
- MSPE (Dean’s List).
- Official transcript.
- USMLE scores (Step I required, Step II and Step III if available). COMLEX scores are accepted.
- Personal statement: we encourage you to use this as an opportunity to tell us about yourself, your life experiences, and your career aspirations.
- At least three (3) letters of recommendation: these should be written by someone who is very familiar with your work (research or clinical) and has experience in writing letters of recommendation (clerkship director, program director, director of inpatient service, or a senior clinician). At least one has to be from an anesthesiologist. If you have extensive research experience (MD/Ph.D. or equivalent research experience), please also submit a letter from a research advisor.
- Photograph.
Candidates interested in the Combined Pediatric-Anesthesiology program need to apply to BCRP in ERAS and select the Pediatrics-Anesthesiology track; please also submit a separate application to BWH Anesthesiology.
Holistic Review Process
We do not use board scores, grades, or other metrics to filter applications. Decisions as to whether to interview or how highly to rank an applicant depend on the totality of the applicant’s record from college onward, including extracurricular accomplishments, clinical performance, research experience, passions, distance-traveled, community engagement and outreach, leadership, cultural competence, and other factors, as well as academic achievements.
We issue interview invitations when our review is complete, but because we review each application holistically and in-depth, our reviews take longer than most other programs.
Reviewing the entire application and not using filters to exclude applicants is the fairest approach and allows us to identify the best applicants. Also, because we do not review applications systematically, some applications get evaluated at the end of the reading period, so some applicants will receive interview invitations before others.
We expect to complete our review and issue all interview invitations by mid-November.
All interviews will be virtual, conducted via Zoom.
International Applicants
Our institution sponsors both H1b and J1 Visas. To be considered for the H1b visa, USMLE Step III must be completed by December 31.
In addition to the general requirements, international candidates should keep the following in mind:
- International candidates should be ECFMG certified by October 31 and must be certified by the end of the interview season (end of January)
- Most international candidates have strong backgrounds in research, and many are already fully trained in anesthesiology or both.
- Many international candidates have demonstrated the ability to work in an academic hospital by completing one or more rotations (with direct patient care) at one of the major US teaching hospitals.
- Letters of recommendation must include at least one letter from a physician who has directly supervised the candidate in a core clinical rotation such as internal medicine, surgery, or pediatrics, and when available, letters from US-trained physicians are beneficial. We do not find letters from “observerships” helpful in evaluating applicants.
Chief Resident
