Author:  Adam Kellogg, MD, Baystate Medical Center, on behalf of the CORD Student Advising Task Force (SATF)

The Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (@CORD_EM) created the Student Advising Task Force (SATF) with the purpose of improving the quality and transparency of the information available to students applying for residency training in EM.  The task force is composed of members of CORD, CDEM, and student and resident representatives from EMRA and the AAEM/RSA.  One of our first objectives was to create advising resources based on the collective wisdom and best advising practices of the membership of these organizations, and the best available data.  The results of these efforts include a comprehensive Emergency Medicine Applying Guide and a more concise collection of Frequently Asked Questions.  The most up-to-date versions of these documents are available below:

CORD SATF Applying Guide 7-16

CORD SATF Applicant FAQ 7-16

The intended audience for these resources are students planning to apply for EM residency and all those who advise them.  Students with limited access to experienced advisors may find these particularly useful, as would the EM attending new to providing this type of mentorship.  Even a knowledgeable faculty member is likely to learn from the opinions in these resources, even if they do not agree with all of the advice contained within.  

There is no substitute for individualized advising from an experienced mentor.  This Applying Guide and FAQ are intended to address common scenarios and the most common questions students have.  While the recommendations in these resources are based on the best available evidence, that data is quite limited.  Future updates to these guides will include specific recommendations for students who find themselves in circumstances where “the usual” advice is not enough.  Look for updates over the next few months addressing the Couples Match, the Osteopathic Applicant, the Military Applicant, and the Red Flag Applicant, to name a few.