We are excited to introduce an exciting new tool developed by the CORD Application Process Improvement Committee. EMATCH was designed to try and help applicants identify at risk characteristics that may need specific strategies to maximize their application in EM. 

This tool has two overarching goals: 1) to reassure applicants who are not at risk (the vast majority) and 2) to push best practice resources and strategies to all applicants. NRMP and AAMC data were used to derive the tool, and best practice advising and strategies include resources from the CORD Advising Students Committee in EM (ASCEM), AAMC Applying Smart and EMRA Match. The CORD BOD and EMRA BOD have both reviewed and approved the tool and IRB approval was obtained to perform a validation this summer with 4th year EM applicants. Please consider sharing this with any 4th year applicants in EM or their advisors!

If you are interested in using the tool please read the consent below and here: EMATCH.

Stay tuned next month for information on another amazing too, the Residency Navigator.

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Dear Emergency Medicine Applicant:

You are being invited to take part in a research study seeking to understand perceptions of competitiveness in Emergency Medicine.  As part of this study, we invite you to complete the online Emergency Medicine Application Tool for Common Hang-ups (EMATCH) questionnaire. 

Your responses will help inform and improve our understanding of current applicant perceptions of competitiveness. Your responses are anonymous. The demographic data we are collecting includes your Medical School year, gender, ethnicity, and race. These will be used to ensure we have a representative sample. No identifying information is included in the survey. 

Taking part in this research study is totally your choice. You can decide not to participate or to stop taking part in this research study at any time for any reason by stopping the survey. Doing so will not affect how you are treated at Baystate Medical Center and will not affect your educational standing or applicant status.

We hope to recruit at least 250 subjects to complete the questionnaire.

Risks and Costs: There are no risks or costs associated with this study. Though unlikely, you may feel uncomfortable answering some questions on the survey, so you may choose to skip questions. However, your participation in this study benefits your education and the education of future applicants by contributing to a better understanding of perceptions of competitiveness and giving you direct access to evidence based advising. 

If you agree to take part in this research study, your personal information will not be linked back to you. Data will be kept in a password-protected database, accessible only by the PI, Dr. Lucienne Lutfy-Clayton.

Who to Contact:For questions about the study or if you believe you have experienced a complication or injury as a result of participating in this study, please contact the PI, Lucienne Lutfy-Clayton, by phone or email (see below). If you have questions about your rights as a research study subject, call the Baystate Medical Center Institutional Review Board (IRB) at (413) 794-4356.  

Next Steps:  If you choose to participate, please complete the EMATCH Questionnaire. Your completed survey will serve as your consent to participate in the study. 

If you choose not to participate in the study, you may keep this consent sheet for your future information. 

This research study has been reviewed and approved by the IRB of Baystate Medical Center. 

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI) CONTACT INFORMATION:

 

Lucienne Lutfy-Clayton MD, Assistant Professor UMMS Baystate

Email: lucienne.lutfy-clayton@baystatehealth.org; Phone number 413-794-5999

Department of Emergency Medicine, 759 Chestnut St, Springfield MA 01199