Electronically Signing Community Service Letter of Recommendation Made Easy

Electronically signing community service letter of recommendation

welcome to a sh peas webinar of the online residency application service all Nonna's forecasts my name is Sarah Bonifant and I am the current chair of a shps pharmacy student forum Executive Committee this webinar will provide an overview of the application process as well as tips for navigating forecasts at the end of this presentation I hope you are able to establish expectations concerning the process of residency recruitment understand how to navigate through forecasts to help you in your residency application submission explain the two-phase match process understand the interaction between forecasts and the match and to identify ways to assist you in navigating the application portal the SHP is heavily involved with the residency training process through our department of accreditation services that works on Accreditation residency's and forecast additionally the organization as a whole supports the residency process through events like the residency showcase the personal placement service or PPS and various residency of recruitment education programming including sessions concerning the recruitment process use of forecasts and what to expect you will see many of these initiatives at the major clinical meeting this year in Las Vegas the ultimate goal of forecast is to streamline the residency recruitment process wherever possible to benefit residency applicants residency programs and reference raters forecasts for the pharmacy online residency centralized application service is a platform that helps automate the entire residency application process following a SHP guidelines and requirements one could compare it to farm caste which is commonly used for pharmacy applications there are various components that interface with in forecast but for the purposes of this presentation we will be focusing on the applicant portal the applicant portal consists of the actual application your personal statement cv references transcripts and other site-specific supplemental requirements we will review each of the listed components in the following slide as mentioned the application process for residency's occurs through the forecast portal so complete it you have to follow several steps first create a forecast account and sign up for the national matching service second request official transcripts from your school to be sent to the platform third fill in application information requested in your profile it is important to list everything you want to be shown on your application even if it is on your CV fourth upload your CV cover letters and any site-specific documents such as essay questions questionnaires or other requirements as outlined on the website of the residency of your interest double-check that all your documents are final labeled appropriately and free of any errors prior to uploading fit select references that apply to your programs of interest typically it is three letters but programs may request additional ones based on their application requirements 6 submit the final application to your selected sites 1 online profile submission will be disseminated to multiple programs make sure that all uploaded documents that are personalized to your program are labeled correctly just to avoid any confusion during the dissemination process the platform allows electronic tracking to notify you of the application progress you will know exactly what application components are pending and which reference writers have not submitted letters of reference here is the cost breakdown for the process of applying it is important to remember that the National matching service and forecast are two separate entities and so there are fees for both to allow access to the portal and submission to the residency match the base fee is $160 for the national matching service this is a flat fee regardless of the number of applications or number of rankings that you submit and allows you to access the match there's an additional forecast fee of $110 that covers up to 4 program applications this fee is also standard regardless if you are applying to just one or all four programs if you are interested in applying to more than 4 programs each additional application is $43 so for an example if I would like to apply to ten programs I will pay $160 to the national matching service and $368 to forecast this $368 comes from the base fee of 110 which covers the four application and then forty-three x six for the remaining programs to initiate the process and access forecast start by visiting WWE SHP org backslash forecast this webpage provides you the information you need about the application process assistance with the selecting and submitting for residency programs once in the page you can scroll down under resource information and go to applicant resources and click on forecast applicant login or forecast application portal so this will direct you to the online application portal please note that forecast opens on November 5th at 3 o'clock p.m. Eastern Standard Time here is a screenshot of the main page to register apply put in your rank list as well as to view your results now I will just go over some tips to remember when you're working on your application if you are having issues do not start over use a contact forecast staff and they will work on the issues for that account it is important to contact forecast and not a SHP because forecast has specific staff that can assist with troubleshooting any issues if you are having trouble signing on make sure you on the correct portal this is a portal for reference writers and there is one for applicants so oftentimes if you google forecast you may not get the right portal before entering the match you must complete the applicant agreement listed on this page make sure you read it thoroughly to understand the conditions of the participation in the match as part of your application materials you will be asked the following information first you would want to input your demographic information secondly you have to request transcripts from your school it is important to print out the transcript request forms seen on the right side of this slide and bring it with you when requesting your transcript from your Registrar's Office or mail or email that form to your Registrar's Office this will decrease errors and increase efficiency when processing processing your transcripts and only pharmacy transcripts are required if your program has special requirements or a master's component please check and send in all of the transcripts they are looking for for example many programs combined with the masters may require all in undergraduate transcripts if your pharmacy college is foreign you are required to send this transcript to forcast foreign transcripts in English will be accepted if the transcript is not in English you will have to have it evaluated just the tip do not wait to request your transcript send current transcripts and at the end of the semester you can request a newer version of the transcripts this way you meet the requirement of forecast before office is closed for any holidays all programs will require a personal statement or a letter of intent this should be customized to each program describing how their values and beliefs align with your own as well as identifying any questions that need to be answered remember to save each document with a unique identifiable name for easy uploading an example of a file name could be Sara Bonifant personal statement EBC residency program the programs will be able to download those files so be sure to keep the identifiable file names professional and include the program title as well when requesting for reference writers be sure to notify your reference writers in advance the holidays are a busy time and be sure to notify them before selecting them in forecast send your reference writers a copy of your CV as well as areas you would like your reference writer to highlight about you whether that would be your clinical skills during your rotation or possibly any leadership skills when you are in an organization for example notify your reference writer about any unique program requirements and communicate what programs you are applying to they may have a connection to that site that you are aware of what your reference writer determined if they want to write a program specific letter versus the standard letter that goes out to all programs and be sure to follow up appropriately and provide the deadline date three references are required for each program you apply to though some programs may allow for so it is important to check out each programs requirement you will only be able to see that they uploaded the reference not what it actually says you are not limited on the number of reference writers you can request through forecast for different programs however you may only have up to four reference writers for each program application you can select different references for each program or use the same references for all programs it is your choice the reference writers will not be allowed to upload a letter they will have a small field where they can elaborate on an applicant but will not be able to put a letter in the field due to the character limit of the field they took a lot of time and effort and cleaning this for you so make sure to make them this is a screen shot of what the page looks like when you set up the reference request you have to title the reference and include any relevant notes for your program you should notify the individual that you would like them to be a reference prior to sending them information through forecast once they have confirmed filled the reference request similar to the screen and forecasts and name it accordingly make sure you let them know the deadline and if they need to provide any additional information for a specific program you can send multiple requests to each letter writer based on the specifications of each program you have many options on how to title the request including a standard reference a personalized reference or if you are applying to uniquely different programs like a PGI one or admin this form gives reference writers the ability to promote you in a variety of areas note that some programs may request a traditional reference letter in addition to this recommendation form some areas that reference writers may promote could be writing skills oral communication skills and many others extracurricular and professional activities are also part of your application this might include awards leadership roles presentations publications pharmacy related work experience or community service make sure to fill out all of the extracurricular and professional activity sections even if it is on your CV many programs uses data to sort through their applications the Supplemental information section and forecast is available for you to upload any additional site specific requirements of each program supplemental material is optional and you should only include it when a program asks for it so you should only give the program what they want they may not appreciate extra materials to review make sure forms are shared in PDF format also you can customize your CV for each program that you are applying to if you like you must register for the national matching service before submitting applications and forecasts as previously mentioned the national matching service and forecasts are two separate entities when entering the forecast site originally you will be transferred seamlessly to the national matching service to register and receive the code when you get your national matching service number a tip could be to include it in your CVS so that the residency program can access that information easily also please note that each residency program has its own national matching service code the portal to accept applications is controlled by the program and each program may have a different deadline requirement so make sure to do your research beforehand deadlines are very important so be cognizant of them no new applications will go through after 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the application deadline so don't wait until the last minute if you do and may possibly have trouble uploading you may miss the program deadlines the things you cannot control can come in later like transcripts and references you can still you submit your application even if your transcripts and references are not uploaded yet grams can also open and close their application window at any point now that we have discussed the application process we will now go over the match the twenty20 match is conducted in two phases during phase one all applicants and programs submit their rank order lists by the deadline for Phase one in March the matching algorithm will be processed to place applicants in two positions the results of phase one of the match will then be distributed to applicants and program important dates will be will be reviewed later in this presentation during phase two programs with unfulfilled positions in phase one will offer positions to unmatch applicants in Phase two of the match all applicants seeking positions after phase one and all programs with available positions will submit the rank order list for Phase two a second match will be carried out using those rank order list and the results of Phase two will then be distributed new programs or positions that receive funding after phase one of the match may also be added into Phase two of the match and applicants who do not participate in phase one may participate in Phase two to assist applicants who are still seeking a residency after Phase two a post-match process will be implemented a list of programs with available positions after phase two of the match will be provided on the match website applicants who do not obtain a position in the match will be able to use forecast to prepare applications to programs that have positions available here is an overview of important dates to keep in mind during the application process November 5th of this year is when applicants are able to register in forecast and sign up for the National matching service February 28th is the deadline for rank list for phase one of the match March 31st is one rank list are due for Phase two of the match April ninth is the deadline for applicants to submit for post match as a it is important to familiarize yourself with all of these deadlines for the application process here are some of the statistic for 2019 match over 8,000 app complete applicants were submitted over 88,000 applications were submitted each applicant applied to an average of 10 programs and there was a 99.2% position fill rate which was combined data from p gy 1 s and p gy 2 s there were 19 thousand nine hundred individual reference writers seventy four thousand seven eight references submitted and there were two thousand nine hundred fifty seven programs combined of p gy 1 and p gy 2 with over 4600 available positions if you are looking for more broken-down statistics from the past few years please visit the a sh p resident matching program portion of the national matching service website for additional information I will now go over some tips for navigating through the application process if you are having difficulties logging in double check that you're using the 2019 2020 applicant portal like I mentioned earlier there are other portals for reference writers and programs to log in from do not create more than one account if you are experiencing technical difficulties contact forecast for support it's the content that counts not the special fonts and symbols in the document just be sure to keep it simple if you are interested fellowship program or an unaccredited residency program be aware that they are not in forecast those that are in the process of a SHP accreditation status such as pre candidate and candidate use forecast reference writers use the standard forecast form to submit their support so no document uploading is required one graduates must be pre-approved to apply to PGI one residency program you must upload proof of either a pharmacist license from the United States or a foreign pharmacy graduate equivalency committees certificate from the National Association of boards of Pharmacy do not wait until the last minute to submit your application you do not want to have technical difficulties getting in the way of submitting your application on time and submitting early will allow programs to start reviewing your application early and avoid any technical difficulties that may come up closer to the deadline so I know we went over a lot of information in this presentation but if you have any other questions or need more clarification on something a SHP has many resources to help you out please visit WWE is HP org flex backslash forecast which includes a document covering frequently asked questions please review a SHP student residency guide which provides information on residency timelines fq a's interview skills packet and much more also follow AHP on social media for updates on highlights of events and resources if you are coming to a shps mid-year critical meeting this year there will be a student forecast information session on Sunday December 8th from 1:30 to 2:30 which will provide an opportunity for staff from forecast to come and talk with students also please continue the discussion on a SHP connect to share your own tips and tricks of navigating through forecast if you have information about forecast please contact their customer service team directly thank you for your time and good luck