Dermatology Residency Application Instructions

Consensus Statement on Upcoming Dermatology Residency Application
Cycle with Respect to COVID-19 Pandemic
This statement was released by the Program Director Task Force of the Association of
Professors of Dermatology, and represents the views of the UNM Dermatology
Residency Program as well as other Programs around the country.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to medical education
across the country. We understand that students’ anxiety about the upcoming
application cycle has been heightened given the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19
related changes to curriculum and scheduling and how this will affect the residency
application process.
As dermatology residency program directors, we would like to address principal areas of
the residency application to hopefully lessen students’ concerns regarding the process.
These recommendations may change as the situation evolves; please continue to
monitor AAMC and institutional policies and guidelines. Additionally, this statement
represents the views of a group of dermatology residency program directors, but was
not reviewed by all programs; please continue to refer to individual program websites for
institution-specific information.
 Research: We understand that projects have been halted or delayed secondary to the
COVID-19 pandemic, and will note students’ prior and ongoing participation in research
and academic projects in this context. Efforts that students have put forth in these areas
are valuable, irrespective of whether they culminated in published work.
 Volunteer/service/other experiences: Many opportunities to serve in traditional areas
for medical school volunteer experiences have been altered or made impossible by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Additional opportunities associated with changes in institutional
practices related to COVID-19 may be available at some institutions but not at others.
Prior and current volunteer experiences will be reviewed in this context.
 Away rotations: There is still uncertainty with regards to away rotation availability at
many institutions; some institutions may be unable to offer away rotations this year at
all, while others may be offering limited spots later in the summer or fall. Many students
may be unable to participate in away rotations because of institutional travel restrictions.
While away rotations can be helpful for certain students, particularly for those without
“home” dermatology programs, or for those with family obligations in other locations,
away rotations should not be perceived as required or necessary for matching into
dermatology residency. If you have a specific interest in any programs, please visit
those programs’ websites to determine whether there are updates to their processes for
this year, recognizing that institutional policies are constantly evolving.
 Research year: In recent years, more students have been choosing to pursue a “year
off” in research prior to entering into the dermatology application process. While there
are reasons for students to pursue such an option, such as potential interest in clinical
or basic research, these experiences should not be perceived as required or necessary
for matching into dermatology residency. If you were planning on pursuing such an
opportunity prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, then it would make sense to continue
those plans. However, there is no reason to choose this path simply because of COVID19 pandemic-related changes to your application.
 USMLE Step 2: Some students may have planned to take the USMLE Step 2 exam but
may be unable due to lack of availability of testing centers. USMLE scores are only a
minor component of one’s application, and students should not consider alternative
application plans due to the absence of this score alone. Please refer to individual
program websites to determine whether Step 1 score cut-offs are used and/or whether
Step 2 scores are recommended/required.
As dermatology residency program directors, we recognize that the COVID-19
pandemic will result in increased disparities in strength of applications due to lack of
opportunity for students with smaller home programs or in areas more affected by this
crisis, particularly as some students may additionally be struggling with personal or
family COVID-19 illness during this time. Understandably, this will lead to a
considerable amount of added uncertainty and anxiety for many students as they
consider future career plans. We support holistic review processes and encourage
residency programs to consider and weigh these significant factors.
In this time of great personal and professional stress, we hope that by addressing
specific concerns, students will feel more comfortable approaching the process and
maintaining their application plans, knowing that we will take into consideration the
multitude of extrinsic factors affecting applications this year.
Updated April 9, 2020

Preference signaling refers to the use of token(s) by residency applicants to express interest in a residency program during application review and prior to interview invite release. This formalized process allows applicants to express interest in a small number of programs apart from traditional methods of email, phone calls, or virtual or in-person away rotations. The goal is to ease application overload and provide programs credible expression of interest by applicants.

 

While the APD Program Director Task Force and APD Board have discussed mechanisms for preference signaling and have engaged with other specialties in ongoing discussions, we have decided that this effort requires further consideration. We will not be implementing preference signaling for the 2020-2021 dermatology residency application cycle.

 

We hope that the pilot program that otolaryngology is pursuing this year, with support of AAMC and NRMP, will provide additional data upon which to decide if this tool would be feasible for future dermatology application cycles. We will also continue to participate in cross-specialty discussions of preference signaling and other application process reforms.

 

There is a separate entity, Signal (@SignalTokens, signaltokens.org) that is marketing the use of tokens to students and programs via email and social media. This involves a fee to students, and does not guarantee that programs have registered to receive tokens. Given the potential issues with equity and added expenses, the Department of Dermatology of the University of New Mexico recommends against dermatology residency applicants registering with the Signal service for this application cycle.