What Reviewers Look For in the Residency — ERAS Experiences
This rubric reviews whether each description clearly explains your own activities, responsibilities, and any important context. It also checks that claims are specific and appropriately bounded, that each entry answers its field, and that the entries add distinct information when read together. Clear, accurate descriptions help readers understand what you did without relying on titles, institution names, or other structured fields.
Residency — ERAS Experiences review
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What We Check
Whether each applicable entry makes the applicant's own part identifiable.
Whether each applicable entry supports its central claim with evidence suited to that claim.
Whether each response unit performs the exact job shown in its supplied experience type and field instruction.
Contradiction, repeated evidence, and division of work within the submitted response set only.
Mistakes We Flag
- Using a title instead of describing your work
- A position title, organization, or membership alone does not show what you personally did. Name a responsibility, task, contribution, or sustained participation.
- Making broad impact or trait claims without support
- Phrases such as “made a difference” or “strong leader” do not explain the work behind the claim. Include a task, recipient, method, or specific consequence that shows what you mean.
- Taking credit for a team or service outcome
- Describe your own bounded contribution while recognizing the work of others. Do not present a department, team, or community result as if it came from you alone.
- Repeating structured details or drifting into a personal statement
- The description should add activities, responsibilities, and useful context beyond details already captured elsewhere. An origin story, specialty argument, or program pitch should not replace the requested description.
- Repeating the same account across entries
- Entries should contribute distinct tasks, recipients, methods, or consequences. If multiple entries repeat the same task and result, keep the accurate account where it belongs rather than filling space.
How this rubric reads your essay
- Built from published reader guidance — the sources are listed below.
- Scored per section against defined criteria, not general impressions.
- Calibrated for consistent scoring, so a better draft shows up in the score.
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I include in an experience description?
Briefly describe your major activities and responsibilities, plus any important context. Make your own role and actions clear.
Do I need numbers, a major outcome, or a leadership title?
No. A modest responsibility can be effective when your task is clear and accurately described. Numbers, clinical exposure, formal leadership, and dramatic outcomes are not required.
Can I write in bullets or fragments?
Yes. Compressed prose, complete sentences, and lists can all work if the reader can tell who did what and how the parts relate.
Should every entry explain why I want a specialty or appeal to a program?
No. These descriptions are read by every program and specialty you apply to. Keep them program-neutral and specialty-neutral, and focus on the activity, responsibility, and relevant context.
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