The MSPE details your academic history and performance through your first three full years of medical school and, in some cases, as much of your fourth year as possible. Largely written by the Associate Dean for Medical Education and Student Affairs in collaboration with other faculty members, the MSPE also includes an assessment of your professional attributes. Students have an opportunity to meet with a staff member to review their MSPE for accuracy. The MSPE release date (the date the document becomes available to programs through ERAS) is October 1 each year.

Transcripts are required for all students applying to residency programs. Unofficial transcripts will be produced by the admissions office and provided to the DWS. The DWS will upload all transcripts prior to September 15th. If you would like an updated transcript to be uploaded to your application after September 15th, please contact Dr. Eric Williams at [email protected].

Most programs require a minimum of three letters of recommendation. ERAS allows you to store an unlimited number of letters and to designate different letters for each program. However, you can’t send more than four letters to an individual program. You should plan to ask for letters of recommendation at the end of your third year of medical school, between April and July, and no later than August of your fourth year.

Be sure to give letter writers at least three to four weeks to write the letter. Potential letter writers may be attending physicians from third- or fourth-year rotations, department chairs, program directors, research collaborators, deans, and faculty with whom you worked in extracurricular activities. It’s best to avoid asking residents to write letters. Letter authors upload their letters to the ERAS system.

Check individual program websites and ERAS program information for details on what types of letters of recommendation are expected and when they are due. Please note that the medical school staff (including the DWS and other members of Student Services) are not allowed to have access to any LoR. The DWS may assist authors or their designees with the steps required to upload a LoR but cannot upload the letter themselves.

The USMLE transcript is required by many M.D. residency programs as part of an application to be considered for their positions. Applicants should research programs individually for requirements related to the USMLE transcript (i.e. minimum scores). Applicants must authorize the release of their USMLE transcript and assign it to the programs they designate.

The NBME or ECFMG (for IMG Residency) charges a fee of $80 for transmitting USMLE transcripts to the programs designated by applicants. You can view the USMLE Requests Status Report to track the status of your USMLE requests by program. If you have a new score become available you must take action in MyERAS to resend USMLE scores to programs previously designated to receive them.

University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia hires a photographer for all M.D. students to have a professional head shot taken at the end of the third year. It is recommended that this photo be uploaded to MyERAS. The photo is most often used by programs to help identify applicants when reporting for an interview.

You should research programs individually to verify their requirements and use of the photo. Applicants must upload their own photo in MyERAS and then make assignments of the photo to the programs they designate. Please note that the photo file must meet the following requirements:

• File Type: JPG/JPEG or PNG
• Maximum File Size: 100 KB
• Maximum Dimensions: 2.5 in. x 3.5 in.
• Maximum Resolution: 150 DPI

All who matched must complete the temporary license requirement of the institution/state of the residency. States have different license requirements, so it’s important that you review and complete all necessary paperwork in a timely fashion. Some forms cannot be completed until after your graduation day. In most cases, Dr. Rhinehart will need to sign and certify your date of graduation and/or degree completion. Forms that request the signature/verification of the “Dean” will be completed by him as well. If an official transcript is required by your residency program, the certified/official transcript will be available approximately three weeks after your graduation date. The cost of an official transcript is $12.00 and can be requested at the link below.  Please do not request the transcript now but wait until after your graduation date. If you were to request it now, it may be sent without having your degree conferred.

The link to request a transcript is: https://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/registrar/transcripts_and_records/transcripts/index.php.

Programs may request references or letters of recommendation (LoR). Some residency programs will use your LoRs from your residency applications, and some generate letters from the program director and/or chair for the department. Some states have forms that need to be completed prior to graduation. You will need to research how your program handles this process. Please contact Dr. Rhinehart at [email protected] if you need a copy of the MSPE/Dean’s Letter.

If your program asks for liability insurance information, students at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine are provided medical professional liability coverage ($300,000/$600,000) under policy number P1200805 with the SC Insurance Reserve Fund. The Insurance Reserve Fund is located at 1201 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201. The current coverage is from October 15, 2020 – October 15, 2021. A new certificate will be issued in October 2021 that will provide coverage from October 15, 2021 – October 15, 2022.

The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (SCDLLR) Board of Medical Examiners form must be completed and submitted to the registrar, who will place a School of Medicine seal on the form and deliver it to LLR. Since an official/certified transcript must accompany the form, each student who matched in SC must complete the transcript request form and provide a $12.00 check or money order (made payable to the University of South Carolina) by April 21. Please bring the form and payment to Dr. Rhinehart (slide it under his door if he is not there). After the transcripts are available, Dr. Rhinehart will pick up the transcripts and hand deliver the forms/transcripts for all students who matched in South Carolina to the SCDLLR.

Your diplomas will be given out at the Hooding and Commencement Ceremony each May.

If you need a photo for your license application or other residency-related form, please contact Nikita Stanley in Student Affairs at [email protected] or 803-216-3632 to obtain your MIV composite photo.

Dr. Rhinehart ([email protected]), Shelley Streeter ([email protected]) and Sarah Ricker ([email protected]) are available to notarize documents. Please email one of them to set-up an appointment.

Your School of Medicine mailboxes will be disabled in mid-July following graduation, but we can provide forwarding to another email address until mid-August, if you need it.

Please email OIT PST Request if you need forwarding after July 15th and provide us your new email address. If you are not graduating this year or are continuing with us as an employee, please make us aware of that, so your account is not removed. Residents do not need to keep their School of Medicine accounts but their emails can be forwarded to their Prisma Health email accounts. If you email OIT PST Request and let us know that, we can keep your account active until your Prisma Health email is assigned. You can then email us your Prisma Health email address and we will forward it for you then.

You may go to the police department for courtesy fingerprints or check with the VA fingerprinting office for courtesy fingerprints at 803-776-4000 Ext. 4886 to set up an appointment. If you are going to a VA hospital for residency, then you will need to provide the receiving facility’s SOI SON #.

If you need a PPD or copy of your immunization records, please email Jennifer Evans at [email protected] or call her at 803-216-3374.

The National Provider Identification (NPI) number is provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help with the efficiency of electronic transmission of health information. You all will have one eventually, but in order to apply for it, you have to have your MD degree and a license number. Your residency program should help you with the application process. If your program requires you to obtain your number now, you can do so by following this CMS guide.