AAMC ERAS 2021 User Manual

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ERAS 2021 PDWS Getting Started Guide updated October 20, 2020

Welcome to the ERAS 2021 recruitment season!

Throughout the recruitment season we will continue to share important information but to get started,
below is a summary of what is new this season as well as enhancements to the Program Director’s
Workstation (PDWS).

The PDWS Update Release Notes section of the PDWS community site provides an archive of all
enhancements that have been made to the PDWS as well.

If you have any questions regarding the updates and enhancements, please contact our ERAS Client

Technical Support at 202-828-0413 or (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. ET).

Best wishes for a successful year,

Amy

Amy Mathis
Senior Director, ERAS

© 2020 Association of American Medical Colleges

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ERAS 2021 PDWS Getting Started Guide updated October 20, 2020

Table of Contents

Application Review .............................................................................................................................. 3

Work Authorization .......................................................................................................................... 3

Postgraduate Training Authorization Letter (PTAL) Removed ................................................................ 3

COMLEX-USA & USMLE Exam Transcript Changes ................................................................................ 3

ECFMG Status Report........................................................................................................................ 3

Notes Indicator ................................................................................................................................ 4

Filters ................................................................................................................................................. 4

Filter Value and System-Defined Filter Name Changes ......................................................................... 4

Scheduler ............................................................................................................................................ 5

Scheduler History ............................................................................................................................. 5

Interviewer Availability ..................................................................................................................... 5

Scheduler Setup Navigation ............................................................................................................... 6

Standardized Video Interview (SVI) ........................................................................................................ 6

SVI Removal ..................................................................................................................................... 6

Medical Schools ................................................................................................................................... 6

School Name Changes ....................................................................................................................... 6

New Medical Schools and Campuses .................................................................................................. 6

ERAS Community Site ........................................................................................................................... 7

Community Site Reminder ................................................................................................................. 7

© 2020 Association of American Medical Colleges

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ERAS 2021 PDWS Getting Started Guide updated October 20, 2020

Application Review

Work Authorization – The work authorization selection “U.S. Citizen, Legal Permanent Resident, Refugee,

Asylee” has been updated to include “National” and will now display “U.S. Citizen or National, Legal
Permanent Resident, Refugee, Asylee.” Application and filter fields have been automatically updated.

Postgraduate Training Authorization Letter (PTAL) Removed – Due to recent changes made by the Medical

Board of California (MBC), the PTAL is no longer required for international medical graduates entering training

in California programs. As a result, all PTAL features and references have been removed from the system.

COMLEX-USA & USMLE Exam Transcript Changes – In partnership with the NBME and NBOME, formatting
changes have been made to the PDWS version of the COMLEX-USA and USMLE transcripts.

The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) examinations have
been suspended since March 16, 2020.

The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME), the COMLEX-USA Level 2 Performance
Evaluation (PE) examinations have been suspended since March 7, 2020.

These dates are noted on all exam transcripts displayed in the PDWS.

COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE and USMLE Step 2 CS exam results administered prior to the suspension (March 7 and

16) will be reported on exam transcripts displayed in the PDWS.

For more information regarding COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE, please contact NBOME at [phone] (Monday –
Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET) or [e-mail]. For more information regarding USMLE Step 2 CS,
please contact the NBME at [phone] or [e-mail].

ECFMG Status Report – The USMLE Step 2 CS was a part of the requirements international medical graduates
had to complete to become ECFMG certified. As a result of the USMLE Step 2 CS suspension, ECFMG’s policy
on ECFMG certification has changed, and new pathways to attain ECFMG certification have been implemented
for those who have not yet passed the Step CS at the time of its suspension. More information about the
ECFMG policy change regarding ECFMG certification can be found here.

In addition to the ECFMG Status Report document, the PDWS also displays the ‘ECFMG Certified’ and ‘CSA
Passed’ Fields in the Exams/License tab. In previous years when the ‘CSA Passed’ field was ‘Yes’, it also
displayed an associated date. This year the ‘CSA Passed’ field will not have that associated date when
applicants have satisfied the requirements of one of the newly established clinical skills pathways. There are
no changes to the ‘ECFMG Certified’ field.

© 2020 Association of American Medical Colleges