As a KansasCOM student, you have access to expert advice to help you identify and achieve your goals. The Office of Career Services provides a variety of resources for students, including assistance with:
Every student receives a free subscription to Careers in Medicine. This is not a newsletter. Rather, this is a resourceful and easy-to-navigate platform that allows you to learn more about your interests/personality, values, and skills as they pertain to the medical field, as well as specialty exploration & analytics and even residency preparedness. Careers in Medicine has the resources you need to be better prepared for each stage of your Student Doctor journey! Click the link above and sign in to gain access to all these important tools! If you have trouble signing in or accessing resources, email [email protected].
Watch this website tour video to simplify your navigation of the Careers in Medicine platform and the vast utility it will provide you!
A curriculum vitae (CV) is a document that outlines your education, experiences, attainments, and achievements over a broad span of areas. Unlike a resume which is typically brief, specific, and 1-2 pages in length, a CV has no page length and usually includes information you wouldn't find on a resume. It is important to update your CV continuously, as trying to create a CV only when submitting information for rotations or residency can cause you to rush, forgetting or unintentionally leaving out critical information or associated dates.
As with resumes and personal statements, the key is quality over quantity. Avoid trying to “fluff” up your CV to make it appear longer. Include only information you feel is important and necessary for program directors to know. For example, listing that you were on the Dean’s Honor Roll in high school or that you were given a Team Captain award in your sports club may not be relevant to program directors when considering your application. However, outlining the longevity of your community service and/or educational involvement in medical school with brief descriptions and applicable dates are likely a portion of your CV program directors will review and appreciate more.
We have created a template to help you begin creating your CV. Review the helpful links below to help you build it out:
CV Information & Template.docx
(AMA) 6 Keys to Creating a Medical Student CV That Sets You Apart
(AAMC) Preparing Your Curriculum Vitae
Creating a Physician CV That Shines - NEJM CareerCenter Resources
(AACOM) How to Look Good on Paper: Building an Effective CV During Medical School for Residency Applications and Beyond | AACOM (video panel from program directors/medical professionals)
Crafting a personal statement is a critical piece of applying for residency - and sometimes even rotations. Personal statements provide the opportunity to give program directors a sense of who you are and your dedication toward a chosen specialty. Typically, personal statements for residency are 1-3 page long. However, remember the focus here is quality over quantity. Remove unnecessary “fluff” from your personal statement and focus on the key points and the message you want to send.
Pay special attention to grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and organization! Re-read your personal statement numerous times to ensure it is clear, concise, and free of errors.
Please review the helpful links below as you craft your personal statement:
Personal Statement | Students & Residents (aamc.org) (Specific for ERAS)
Personal statement do's and don’ts (osteopathic.org)
CV & Personal Statement | American Osteopathic Association
Tips for making your personal statement pop (osteopathic.org)
Residency Match: 4 tips for writing a standout residency personal statement (ama-assn.org)
Developing interview skills are much like muscles: as you consistently practice with and utilize them, the stronger they become. Looking good on paper is great, but solidifying this perception is only achieved in the interview. Developing these skills and adequately preparing for the interview processes you’ll encounter will set you apart from others and help secure your spot in the programs you want to join! The interview may only be an hour or less, but it usually takes days – sometimes weeks - of preparation to be fully ready.
Start your preparation today to begin strengthening your interview skills by reviewing the helpful links below:
Questions Frequently Asked of Applicants During Interviews | Students & Residents (aamc.org)
Insight From Residents on What to Ask During Residency Interviews | Students & Residents (aamc.org)
Residency & Fellowship Applicant Interview Preparation Guide | Students & Residents (aamc.org)
AAMC Prep for Success in you Virtual Interview
Virtual Interviewing | AACOM
Deciding what specialty to go into as you navigate medical school can be a difficult process. We recommend keeping an open mind and exploring different specialties as you go through your courses and the hands-on experience you'll gain in your clinical rotations/Sub-I’s. Choosing your specialty requires you to understand yourself, what your passion is, and where you want to contribute your skills and knowledge to make the most impact.
An important part of selecting a specialty you want to go into is the competitiveness of each specialty and having a realistic approach to selecting a specialty. Therefore, we encourage you to have at least 2 specialties in mind that you would like to go into. The resources below are a great way to better understand the competitiveness of many common specialties, as well as what program directors as specifically looking for when evaluating residency candidates.
Please review these helpful links to get started on crystalizing your specialty interests:
Careers in Medicine (top of page) has an entire section dedicated to choosing your specialty!
Charting Outcomes™: Characteristics of U.S. DO Seniors Who Matched to Their Preferred Specialty: 2024 Main Residency Match® | NRMP
Charting Outcomes™: Program Director Survey Results, 2024 Main Residency Match® | NRMP
Transitions in Medical Education Series Webinar: Residency Applications and Using Data to Guide Specialty and Program Selection | AACOM (Video)
Specialty-Specific Advising Resources | AACOM
Choosing a Medical Specialty | American Osteopathic Association
The moment you’ve been waiting and preparing for: residency! This process can introduce feelings of excitement and joy, but also nervousness, anxiety, and uncertainty. Rest assured - we have the resources to help prepare you for this major step in your academic journey!
While the other resources you’ll find on this page are critical elements in the residency application process, here are some specific resources pertaining to this process (Note: ERAS and NRMP are separate entities that have specific roles in the residency application. Learn more from the links below):
Careers in Medicine (top of page) has an entire section dedicated to preparing for residency!
Residency Explorer™ Tool | Students & Residents (aamc.org)
FREIDA™ AMA Residency & Fellowship Programs Database (ama-assn.org)
Guide_to_COM_Affiliated_Medical_Residency_Programs.pdf
ERAS 2025 Participating Specialties & Programs
2024-2025 Season for Effectively Utilizing the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) (link updated each year as available)
2025 MyERAS® Applicant User Guide | Students & Residents (link updated each year as available)
Residency Applicants | NRMP
Intro to The Match | NRMP
AAMC ERAS® and NRMP® offer SOAP® 101 Webinar (for partially unmatched or fully unmatched applicants/link updated each year as available)
Please reach out to registrar Freda Strack at [email protected] for more information about ERAS requirements and application requirements.
Dr. Brandon Dorion
Career Services Specialist
[email protected]
Schedule an Appointment:
calendly.com/bdorion-kansashsc/30min