LOR = Letter of Recommendation ROL = Rank Order List (triply redundant term for organizing your program selections) LOL = Laugh Out Loud (at the prospect of being an intern in 8 months)
AOA = Alpha Omega Alpha, the prestigious medical honor society AOK = Your prospects to match well, if you're in AOA
ACLS = Advanced Cardiac Life Support (must be certified before graduation) ALCS = American League Championship Series (if the Red Sox blow it again, I'll need ACLS)
EROAD = The "lifestyle" specialties (Emergency, Radiology, Ophthalmology, Anesthesiology, Dermatology) TLAWROAD = The Long And Winding Road you must take to match in said specialties
USMLE = United States Medical Licensing Exam (pronounced 'you-smile' as in, "When we charge you a thousand dollars and force you to fly around the country to do physicals on fake patients, you just sit there and you smile.")
ERAS = Electronic Residency Application Service RASH = Stressing about residency applications gives me hives
NRMP = National Residency Matching Program NRBP = No Real Backup Plan
RTFM
Residency application season brings with it a bewildering array of new terms and acronyms. Here's my guide to some of the most commonly encountered: