Application Process
Students interested in pursuing the Internal Medicine Residency program are required to apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) by submitting the documents listed below. Medical students must register with the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) to be considered for our rank list. (Program #C01537140). For the 2024 ERAS® cycle, our program will encourage all applicants to complete a supplemental ERAS application, offered through the AAMC’s ERAS program.
The additional information collected will help our program staff learn more about applicants’ medical education journey, including more meaningful information about work, volunteer, and research experiences, and will help us better identify applicants who fit our program environment and mission.
Potential Primary Care Applicants
If you are enthusiastic about the Primary Care Program, we recommend listing the Primary Care Program first and our categorical program second. Four medical students are competitively accepted into the three-year program through the National Residency Matching Program (#M01537140). All training is coordinated by our Primary Care Track Director, Dr. Jessica Valente, our Ambulatory APD, Dr. Christina Rinaldi, and our Program Director, Dr. Donna Williams.
If you are considering but not committed to general internal medicine, we recommend you rank the categorical program above primary care but still rank both programs. We understand it is difficult at this stage to fully know your final career pathway, but you will be well-prepared for any internal medicine career in the primary care track.
About 60 percent of the graduates of this program enter careers in general internal medicine as office-based physicians, hospitalists or academic faculty members. Other graduates continue their training in subspecialty fellowships.
Application Deadline
December 1
Submitting an Application
Required Documents
As part of the ERAS process, prospective residents will need to submit the following documentation:
- Completed ERAS application
- USMLE Step I and II (Required for both MD and DO Medical Students)
- MSPE uploaded by their school's Deans Office
- Medical School Transcript
- ECFMG Certification (Foreign Medical School graduates only)
- Personal statement or letter of interest explaining career choice and goals
- Three letters of recommendation to be addressed to the program director
- Current photograph (Preferred but not required)
Program Signaling
In the 2024-2025 residency application cycle, internal medicine will use a tiered program signaling structure: three gold and 12 silver. Program signals help applicants indicate their interest to interview for and join a residency program in which they will thrive. Residency programs benefit from using program signals by easing application selection and the review process to focus on holistic review. Here at Wake Forest, we intend to follow the guidance provided by the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine and will approach the interview season as follows:
- Interviews will be offered on a rolling basis beginning in mid-October.
- We use signals as a sign of interest when allocating interview invitations. Though it is not required to signal our program to be invited for an interview, applications with gold signals will be reviewed first, followed by those with silver signals, then applications with no signals to our program as remaining interview spots allow.
- Wake Forest students and students completing a visiting student rotation at our institution should signal our program if they wish to express an interest in our residency program.
- Signals do not increase the likelihood that a reviewed applicant will be invited for an interview; once an application comes up for review, an invitation will be sent based on holistic review of the application, which includes review of the geographic preference as well as all other information available in ERAS.
- After the initial application review, signals will no longer be used through the interview or intern selection process. Interviewers will be blinded to program signals, as will our intern selection committee.
Interview Process
Applications are reviewed by the Intern Selection Committee, and interviews are offered to qualified candidates on a rolling basis. The committee compiles the final match list based on several qualifications, including:
- Academic record and potential to excel
- Clinical skills
- Interactions during the interview day
- Research experience
- Community service and a demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion
- Leadership
- Integrity
Interview Dates
Invitations for interviews will be issued through an ERAS email starting in late October and extending through late January.
International Medical Graduates
We accept international medical graduates into our program. We look for well qualified candidates and prefer applicants that have had U.S. clinical experience within the application year. If you need work authorization, our institution accepts J-1 Visas, Employment Authorization Documentation (EAD) and green cards.
Other requirements include:
- Medical school graduation within the past five years
- Valid ECFMG certification at the time of application
- Ability to obtain a North Carolina Residency Training License
- Have at least one year of "hands-on" clinical experience in the U.S. (observerships and research do not qualify)
- Our institution sponsors a J-1 visa. No other visa types will be accepted.