Applicant Criteria

To be considered eligible for application to the Cedar Rapids Medical Education Foundation the candidate must meet the academic and funding criteria established by the Medical Education Advisory Committee. Those criteria are detailed below.

Academic Criteria

• Eligibility criteria of ACGME
• Applicants with one of the following qualifications are eligible for appointment to accredited residency programs:
  • Graduates of medical schools in the US and Canada accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).
  • Graduates of medical schools in the US and Canada accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).
  • Graduates of medical schools outside the US and Canada who meet one of the following qualifications:
    • Have received a currently valid certificate from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
    • Have a full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in a US licensing jurisdiction
  • US citizen graduates from medical schools outside the US and Canada who cannot qualify under the above, but who have successfully completed the licensure examination in a US jurisdiction in which the law or regulations provide that a full and unrestricted license to practice will be granted without further examination after successful completion of a specified period of medical education
  • Graduates of medical schools in the United States and its territories not accredited by the LCME, but recognized by educational and licensure authorities in a medical licensing jurisdiction who have completed the procedures described in the previous paragraph
  • Graduates of medical schools outside the US who have completed a Fifth Pathway program provided by an LCME accredited medical school

State of Iowa Criteria

• Must be qualified and eligible for full licensure in the State of Iowa

CRMEF Criteria

The following criteria have been defined by the Medical Education Advisory Committee:

• Completed medical school training within the past two years OR
• Training in an ACGME accredited American medical education program within the past two years
• Must have received a score of 200 (82 two digit scoring) or better on the ECFMG qualifying exams where applicable
• Must be fluent in written and verbal English language

Intern and Resident Informaton System (IRIS)

A candidate must have full IRIS direct and indirect support for the entire duration of their training.

Alternate

The Director of Medical Education has the prerogative to present an applicant to the Medical Education Committee who would not otherwise be eligible, but whose qualifications are felt to merit consideration.

The Cedar Rapids Family Practice Residency participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and abides by its regulations in the recruitment and selection of students. The Program’s participation is solely through the Electronic Resident Application Service (ERAS) provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Written applications will not be accepted.

Once a completed ERAS application is received, the Medical Education Office will contact the applicant by mail. This contact will notify the applicant that their materials have been received and the applicant needs to contact the Medical Education Office to set an interview date. Interviews can be scheduled for Monday through Friday beginning in October and extending into February of the academic year. Interviews can be scheduled prior to the distribution of the medical school’s Deans' letters (usually November 1st).

The Program Director reviews all information regarding a student prior to an interview.  Faculty and residents scheduled to meet a student review pertinent non-academic material for background. During the final review and ranking of students, faculty and residents have access to and are encouraged to review all information available on each student.

Students are evaluated on the following parameters:

• Academic performance and letters of reference;
• Activities and interests
• Personality traits/interview
• Quality of fit with the residency.

The Program Director evaluates all students on all four parameters. Residents and faculty evaluate students on the last two parameters. All such ratings are used to generate preliminary ranking lists of students. The Chief Residents participate as the residents’ representatives in the development of the final ranking list after having met with all the residents and received their feedback.

The Medical Education Committee reviews and advises on the methods of recruiting and interviewing students prior to and during the interview season. Also, the committee reviews the general criteria for selection of students and the qualifications of each year’s group of candidates. Finally, the committee addresses regional and national issues affecting the recruitment, selection and qualifications of students and studies feedback from interviewed students on the program’s recruitment efforts.