Main Residency Match (R-1)

Application Process - Supporting Documents

Updated July 12, 2010

The major supporting documents for an application file include a medical student performance record / Dean's letter, medical school transcript, letters of reference and a personal letter. Additional documents can be added such as an undergraduate transcript. Most programs will specify in their program descriptions, any additional documents they require.

Medical School Transcript
Medical Student Performance Record / Dean's letter
Examinations
Personal Letter
Letters of Reference
Early References
Guidelines for Referees
Photograph
Extra Documents

Program descriptions are posted on the CaRMS website. Applicants should read the descriptions of programs of interest by going to the Program Directory on the CaRMS website. New programs may be added and modifications may be made during the year so keep reviewing the Program Directory. The "Supporting Documents" box on each program description lists the documents which are required by the program. Follow these descriptions carefully.

The majority of documents, including letters of reference sent to CaRMS for processing, will require a coversheet. Each unique document requires its own coversheet. Coversheets are created in the Applicant Webstation (AWS) under the "Supporting Documents" heading. For more information about creating coversheets see the AWS Help Manual. Medical Student Performance Records (Dean's letters) and medical school transcripts do not require cover sheets as there is a pre-designated spot in your electronic file for each of these documents.

Canadian Transcripts and MSPR's, and Letters of Reference should be original. All other documents sent to CaRMS should be notarized copies of the original. Documents should be sent by traceable mail. Do not send faxes or photocopies of documents. If a photocopy of a document arrives, it will be stamped 'copy' unless it is notarized. There are some programs that require notarized documents from international medical graduates.

If original documents are NOT in English or French, CaRMS must receive the official translation to English or French.

Medical School Transcript:

A list of your marks from medical school.

DO NOT make a cover sheet for you medical school transcript.

Canadian and United States Medical School Graduates

You are responsible for having your medical school send the transcript directly to CaRMS. Please note that if your school gives the transcript to you, it may have 'Issued to Student' indicated on it.

If you did undergraduate or graduate work at the same school where you did your medical degree, your medical school transcript may include these marks as well. CaRMS cannot separate the medical school and other marks.

If you're applying to one or more programs that request an undergraduate transcript you may wish to make an Extra Document cover sheet for the transcript, even if it is the same as your medical school transcript.

International Medical Graduate

Send your transcript to CaRMS, or have your medical school send your transcript to CaRMS.

If you are sending the transcript directly to CaRMS, please affix a note to it, ideally a sticky-note, identifying it as your medical school transcript. This is not strictly necessary, but it's a big help to CaRMS staff.

If your transcripts are in languages other than English or French have your school send the transcript to you. Have the transcript translated into English or French and then send the translation to CaRMS. There is no need to also send CaRMS the document in its original language.

Medical Student Performance Record / Dean's letter:

A letter from the dean or principal of your medical school.

The content of the medical student performance record reports on your activities during medical school, comments on your performance in clinical rotations and/or recommends you for further medical training

Canadian Medical School Graduates

The medical student performance record for applicants who are graduating in the current year will be forwarded automatically by their undergraduate dean's office. Previous year Canadian medical graduates will have to request their medical school to send their medical student performance record to CaRMS.

Do not make a cover sheet for your medical student performance record.

United States Medical School Graduates

You will be responsible for having a copy of your dean's letter sent to the CaRMS office. We will only accept original copies of your dean's letter.

Do not make a cover sheet for your dean's letter.

International Medical Graduates

If you have a copy of your dean's letter you can send it directly to CaRMS; or, you can have your medical school send your dean's letter directly to CaRMS.

If you're sending the dean's letter to CaRMS yourself, please affix a note to it, ideally a sticky-note, identifying it as your dean's letter. This is not strictly necessary, but it's a big help to CaRMS staff.

Do not make a cover sheet for your dean's letter.

If your dean's letter is in a language other than English and French and is not already in your possession, have your medical school send it to you, have the dean's letter translated, and then send the translation to CaRMS.

There is no need to send the dean's letter to CaRMS in its original language as well.

HINT: If you don't have, and/or can't obtain, a dean's letter, take the opportunity in your personal statement to explain to the programs to which you are applying why you couldn't get a copy of the letter.

Examinations:

Medical Council of Canada exam results:

The letter that the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) sends you to report on the results of your Evaluating Exam, Qualifying I Exam, or Qualifying II Exam.

In order to make the scores of your Medical Council of Canada exams available to residency programs, use the coversheets buttons that will automatically appear when you fill in the relevant information in the Exam section of your Application, then send the letters and their coversheet(s) to CaRMS.

International Medical Graduates

Please note that CaRMS receives scores directly from the MCC for our IMG applicants and they are not able to enter their own score into the AWS platform. Programs require both parts -- the results letter sent to CaRMS by the applicant AND the score sent to CaRMS directly by the MCC -- to consider an examination result valid for IMG applicants.

Applicants to the R-1 Residency Match who write the November 2010 MCCEE will not have their exam score available as part of the CaRMS application until AFTER first iteration file review opens, as the results will not be available until late December.

In order to qualify for the first iteration of the 2011 match, applicants will need to have written the MCCEE in 2010 or before. Applicants scheduled for the January 2011 MCCEE are NOT eligible for the first iteration, but will be able to register for the second iteration of the match.

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) & Test of Spoken English (TSE) score reports:

An official document issued by TOEFL & TSE testing centers, reporting your score for these exams.

Canadian and United States Medical School Graduates

You are not required to have taken these exams.

International Medical Graduates

You may send your own notarized/certified copy of your TOEFL or TSE score report directly to CaRMS. You also have the option to have your TOEFL or TSE score report sent from the testing center directly to CaRMS. Our institution code is 8309. We will not accept photocopies of these exams.

Print a coversheet for your TOEFL or TSE score report under the Exam section of your Application, and send this coversheet to CaRMS. We will match up your coversheet with your score report at the CaRMS office.

For other examinations, like the USMLE, French language exams, it works the same way.

In order to make the scores of your exams available to residency programs, use the coversheets buttons that will automatically appear when you fill in the relevant information in the Exam section of your Application, then send your scores/results and their coversheet(s) to CaRMS.

Reference Letters:

Letters written by physicians, preferably those who have supervised you in a clinical environment, recommending you for further medical training.

CaRMS holds all reference letters confidential. An applicant is not be entitled to have access to letters of reference provided in respect of the match.
By policy, all letters of reference received at CaRMS, from ALL applicants (both IMGs and CMGS) will be treated as confidential and will NOT be returned.

Canadian and United States Medical School Graduates

Create a specific coversheet in the Applicant Webstation (AWS) for each letter; print out the coversheet and give it to your letter-writer; have the letter-writer send the letter and its coversheet to CaRMS. (For More details see the AWS Help Manual).

Or: make a coversheet in the Applicant Webstation (AWS); collect the letter from your letter-writer, signed and sealed; send the letter and its coversheet to CaRMS.

HINT: Include a deadline date on the coversheet for you referee to send the reference letter to CaRMS (the earlier the better). This will help you know when to follow up with your referee if the letter does not arrive at CaRMS by the date you have specified on the coversheet.

If a letter of reference is in a language other than English and French have the letter translated and send the translation to CaRMS.

International Medical Graduates

Ideally, your reference letters should be written by people who have worked with you in a clinical setting in North America; however, CaRMS will accept any reference letter you can provide.

Review the program descriptions in the Program Directory of the programs to which you are applying for any further instructions about reference letters or any preferences on who should and should not write a reference letter for you.

As the second iteration programs are not published until late in the cycle, you will only have a short period of time to submit any additional documents that may have been requested from you. It may not be possible for you to adhere to the requirements of each program in the letters of reference written on your behalf but do your best. Have your referee review Guidelines to Referees for suggestions on the content of the letter.

Create a specific coversheet in the Applicant Webstation (AWS) for each letter; print out the cover sheet and give it to your letter-writer; have the letter-writer send the letter and its coversheet to CaRMS. For More details see the Applicant Webstation Help Manual.

If you already have the letter in your possession, make a cover sheet for it, and send the letter and its coversheet to CaRMS.

If a letter of reference is in a language other than English and French have the letter translated and send the translation to CaRMS.

Early References

Note to applicants who want to contact referees and have them send letters of reference before the opening of the Applicant Webstation (AWS):

Please print off the following Instruction sheet to guide your referee when writing references.

Instruction sheet for early references - First Iteration - 2011

The document section will email you when receiving early references with this sheet. You should keep these emails as they will help you create appropriate coversheets when AWS is open.

NOTE THIS IS NOT A COVER SHEET. Once AWS opens in September, you will still be required to create a coversheet, print it, sign it, and send it to CaRMS by mail. We will NOT be able to match your letters to your electronic file without coversheets.

Guidelines to Referees

A Task Force was asked to develop guidelines for the reference letter for postgraduate medical training. The following recommendations were based on extensive input from program directors, input from students in the 1996-97 match and the wide experience of members of the Task Force. Program directors' input to the Task Force included the request that the reference letter be considered confidential.

These guidelines are not intended to standardize the letter of reference, but to be helpful to referees in constructing the reference letter, therefore allowing program directors to use the letters for comparative purposes.

Reference letters should state whether or not the applicant has seen or will receive a copy of this letter and should include:

the type and duration of the referee's contact with the individual student
appropriate comment on the student's:
- cognitive skills and knowledge
- problem solving and patient management
- behaviour and attitudinal skills
- communication skills and working relationships
- ability to work in a team
- motivation and punctuality
- sense of responsibility
- procedural skills specific to the discipline to which the application is being made

If the referee is unable to comment on a specific component of the student's performance in any of the above categories, he/she is asked to indicate that he/she did not observe or have knowledge of that particular component.

Referees are encouraged to comment on any special qualities they noted or unique contributions of the applicant.

Some programs may request comments on specific qualities of the applicant.

Reference letters should be sent directly to the CaRMS office, to the address on the "Letter of Reference Coversheet".

Special Instructions to Referees Writing More than one Reference Letter for an Applicant

If the referee is writing more than one letter of reference for an applicant, the applicant will have to provide a Letter of Reference Coversheet for each reference. Also, the letters must be uniquely titled in order to be processed by CaRMS. The "Document Title" created by the applicant will be printed on the Reference Coversheet, along with the applicant's name and a unique Reference Request number generated by the Applicant Webstation (AWS). This will assist the referee in preparing the letter and putting the correct coversheet with the correct letter.

This information is essential for identification and processing at the CaRMS office, and is also required for the letter writer to ensure they attach the correct coversheet to the letter.

HINT: Use a Highlighter to identify the letter.

Personal Letters:

Letters written by you (the applicant) to introduce yourself to a residency program.

Canadian, United States and International Medical School Graduates

Each program has preferences as to what the personal letter should contain. Please check individual program descriptions in the Program Directory to see what the programs to which you are applying to are looking for in a personal letter.

HINT: If a program you would like to apply to, does not have a description for their personal letter, refer to another program's description in the same discipline for suggestions.

Your personal letters are incorporated into your Applicant Webstation (AWS) electronic application file. You can write the letter directly in the Applicant Webstation (AWS) or you can import a text file created from your word processor. For details, please refer to the AWS Help Manual.

Do not make cover sheets for your personal letters, and do not send your personal letters to CaRMS.

Make sure your personal letters are complete before you assign them to programs. They do not have a due date.

Photograph:

A photograph of yourself, measuring no more than 2 ½" x 3 ½". The purpose of the photograph is to help program directors remember who you are, after you have been interviewed.

Canadian, United States and International Medical School Graduates

CaRMS will only accept digital photographs uploaded electronically in the Applicant Webstation.

In the first iteration of the match, your photo will not be revealed to programs prior to the beginning of the designated out-of-town interview period. In the second iteration of the match, your photo will be revealed when the Program Webstation (PWS) opens for file review.

The photograph is not mandatory.

Extra Documents

Custom Resume:

A copy of your resume, not to be confused with your Applicant Webstation (AWS) application though they may be similar in content.

Canadian, United States and International Medical School Graduates

There are 3 reasons why you might wish to customize your resume:

One of the programs to which you are applying requires that their applicants submit a resume. Any program that requires a resume will indicate this in the text of the Program Directory.
There is additional information which you could not capture in the Applicant Webstation (AWS) that you want to provide to programs.
In addition to the Applicant Webstation (AWS) application, which goes to every program to which you apply, you want to send some programs custom-tailored accounts of your experiences, emphasizing your work in particular areas.

Make an Extra Document coversheet for each unique resume. Send the resumes and coversheets to CaRMS.

Please note that a custom resume cannot be substituted for the Applicant Webstation (AWS) application; custom resumes can only act as supplements