What is the MSPE?

The Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) is a letter that summarizes and evaluates the performance of a medical student. There are multiple aspects that are included in the evaluation in order to accurately reflect each student's performance including:

• Noteworthy Characteristics: up to three items, provided by you, that highlight your individual qualties and activities which may distinguish you from others
• Academic History: matriculation and graduation dates, general information on any leaves of absences or extensions, and general descriptions of any actions taken by the college in response to the student's performance problems. 
• CCOM Honors and Recognitions: AOA and/or GHHS membership, and candidacy for graduating with distinction (ie. distinction track participation)
• Academic Progress: grades and some summative comments from clinical evaluations
• Clerkships: grades and some summative comments from clinical evaluations
• Summary: A summary of all the above, written by one of your learning community faculty directors or a dean
• Comparative Information: charts that compare your performance to a similar co-hort of other students 

Where applicable, it will also contain:

• MSTP final evaluation
• Pathology Externship final evaluation

The document is sent to all residency programs you'll apply to.  A sample of the MSPE is coming soon.

Strategic Considerations for your Career

Your performance in medical school shapes the MSPE. While the format is standardized and largely out of your control, its content comes from your academic, clinical, and professional performance throughout medical school. Everything you do—from coursework to clerkships—contributes to this document.  Here’s what you need to know:

• Day 1 Matters: It's important to understand that you start creating your MSPE on your first day of medical school. Consistently strive for excellence in your pre-clinical studies, your clinical rotations, and your interactions with peers and faculty.
• Professionalism is Key: Your ability to communicate, collaborate, and uphold professional standards will be highlighted in the MSPE. Take every opportunity during medical school to demonstrate these qualities.  Don't underestimate the importance of so-called "soft skills."
• Understand the Process: You’ll have at least two opportunities to review and suggest correctionts to factual errors and omissions.  The first opportunity comes before you meet with your community director or dean, and the second occurs during the final draft stage. 
• Focus on Long-Term Goals: The MSPE is a small part of the process of securing a residency positon.  Success in medical school strengthens your MSPE but, more importantly, the achievements highlighted within will prepare you for residency. Keep your eyes on the bigger picture as you train.
• Keep an Eye on the Comments: As you make your way through med school, regularly review the comments from your evaluations.  Correct any problems they highlight to show that your trajectory trended upward.  This may also allow you to spot factual errors sooner--it's easier to correct the record sooner than later.

By keeping these principles in mind, you’ll ensure that your MSPE reflects the dedication and hard work you’ve invested throughout medical school. For more details on the MSPE process and timeline, explore the resources available on this page.

Starting the MSPE

Below are the tasks you'll need to do so we can create the MSPE. Read this completely before you begin.  

Make sure you know which faculty member you have been assigned (see the email you received from Dave Etler). Your duties as the student are in bold type.

Task 1

Please visit the link at the bottom of the page ("START HERE").  The information you provide there will become the Noteworthy Characteristics section of the MSPE. You'll then see instructions for completing task 2.  Do task 2 below, immediately. DEADLINE: July 12, 2024.  

Task 2

After you complete task 1 you'll see instructions to choose a date for an appointment with your assigned dean or community faculty director.  DEADLINE: July 12, 2024

• If you would like to be assigned someone else, contact Dave Etler or Audra King.  However, any of the community faculty directors or deans are more than capable of advising you.
• If you want maximum flexibility in scheduling, you must set up your appointment early!
• If you don't set up your own appointment by the deadline above, one will be scheduled for you, and you will be expected to attend regardless of convenience.

Once you complete task 2, for those meeting with a community faculty director, you’ll receive an email from "CCOM Office of Student Affairs and Curriculum".  If you're meeting with a dean, confirmation emails will come from Audra King. 

• Do not delete the confirmation emails; if you have to reschedule, you'll need the links it contains.  Check your junk folder!

Task 3

The day before the scheduled time, you can return to the system to review your MSPE draft online. Be sure to do that before you meet with your community director or dean the following day. Click the "START HERE" button at the bottom of this page. Log in, and review your draft and make editing suggestions.  DEADLINE: THE DAY BEFORE YOUR MEETING.

• Suggest corrections in the MSPE draft.  If you see errors, click the link for that section and use the "Suggestions" field to point them out.
• Be sure to save your suggestions before continuing.
• Note: the deadline to suggest changes to your Noteworthy Characteristics is August 5, 2024.

Task 4

The final draft of the MSPE will be completed and you will be notified to review it in person sometime in early September.  DEADLINE: UPON NOTIFICATION

• When you recieve that message, come to OSAC to review it right away.
• Absolutely no grades or comments will be included from clerkships that end after August 16, 2024.

What happens after that? 

Following final checks by the OSAC Registrar's staff, your MSPE will be uploaded to ERAS prior to September 25, 2024.

Your MSPE will be released to residency programs on September 25, 2024.

Remain in close contact with us during this process. 

Return pages, emails and phone calls promptly, or the MSPE may be written without your input.  

Frequently Asked Questions

• "When I tried to select a meeting date with my community faculty director, there were none listed.  What do I do?"
  Your community faculty director hasn't supplied any dates yet, or all dates have been taken.  Contact them and ask for an appointment.
• "I really like the comment from Dr. XYZ, can I include that?”
  Possibly.  Use the suggestion box to list the comment and name of the faculty who wrote it. Space is limited, so let us know which comment you’d like to replace.  Understand that not all comments are eligible for inclusion.
• "There were no comments for clerkship XYZ, but I remember reading some somewhere..." 
  Clerkship comments come from specific parts of your clerkship evaulations.  If the clerkship has entered comments in that part of your eval, we can use them in your MSPE.  Otherwise they will not be included.
• "I don't remember the date I selected." or "I need to change my signup date."
  Please return to the confirmation email you received from "CCOM Office of Student Affairs and Curriculum" for the link to reschedule.
• "Can I have a copy of my MSPE for myself/my LOR writer?" 
  Sorry, the AAMC doesn't allow us to distribute or make copies of the MSPE.  You may not print or otherwise copy the MSPE for any purpose without permission from the Registrar.
• "My specialty starts reviewing applications earlier than others.  Can I get my MSPE early?"  
  No MSPEs are released to any program before the late-September national release date (see MSPE Timeline box, above).
• "Why isn't my AOA/GHHS/distinction track in the MSPE?" 
  Contact Annette Griffin for AOA and GHHS; for distinction tracks, contact the track director.
• "I have another question."
  Please contact Dave Etler (1191 MERF, 335-8058) or Audra King (1216 MERF, 467-1104).  Direct technical difficulties to Dave. 

START HERE