2025 Road To Residency Webinar Introduction to the SLOE-Road to Residency Intro to the SLOE Webinar

Video Transcription

Video Summary

In this session of the "Road to Residency" webinar, Dr. Ashley and Dr. Nicola discuss the implementation of the standardized letter of evaluation (SLO) in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) residency applications. The SLO is a new tool intended to provide a fair, objective assessment of a medical student's capabilities during their clinical rotations, addressing prior concerns about bias in narrative letters of recommendation. Similar to other medical specialties, the SLO will facilitate a more standardized evaluation of applicants' cognitive and non-cognitive skills.<br /><br />The conversation highlights the groundwork laid with the AAMC, involvement from program directors, and how both current students and applicants should approach requesting these letters. Students are encouraged to obtain at least one PM&R SLO, especially from rotations where they have been evaluated on clinical skills. The SLO is available for both domestic and international students and can include narrative comments for more personalized insights. While concerns about the timing of SLO submissions and the value of traditional versus standard evaluation letters arise, students are reassured that transparency and fairness remain priorities in the application process. Various questions from the audience are answered to provide further clarification on the best practices for securing and submitting letters of evaluation.

Keywords

Road to Residency

webinar

standardized letter of evaluation

SLO

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

PM&R

residency applications

clinical rotations

AAMC