Practical Guidance

Get your residency file before you leave: a checklist

Short answer

While you still have access, download your evaluations, milestones, procedure and case logs, and every policy that applies, in the versions in effect on the date of the action. Then request in writing your complete educational file, committee records, and the creation dates of any evaluation you have not seen. Keep copies outside institutional systems.

The day you lose system access is the day your record becomes the program's record.

In every matter we have seen, the most useful documents were the ones the program wrote itself. They are also the hardest to get after you leave.

Tell us what you could not get: start a confidential intake.

Download now, while you have access

  • Your full evaluation history, including faculty, peer, and self evaluations.
  • Milestone reports for every reporting period.
  • Procedure and case logs.
  • Duty-hour records, if they matter to your situation.
  • Your contract and any amendments.
  • Every policy that might apply, in the version in effect on the date of the action: the discipline policy, the grievance and appeal policy, the hearing rules, and the leave policy.

Request in writing

Send one email to your program director, copied to the GME office:

  • Your complete educational file.
  • Competency committee records about you.
  • Any remediation or probation letters, and the program's record that any remediation was completed.
  • The creation dates of any evaluation you had not seen before.

Gather what you already have

  • Prior promotion or advancement letters. They certify competency.
  • The program's written summaries of meetings with you.
  • Emails from faculty praising your work, especially during any period later criticized.
  • Your own written progress reports, and the replies.
  • Letters from faculty who observed your recent work.
  • Any accommodation request and determination, with dates.
  • Specialty board leave and continuity rules.

Keep it safe

Store copies outside your institutional account. Do not take patient information. Keep a dated log of what you requested and when. The free Residency Record is built for this.

Why it matters

The strongest evidence is usually the program's own: prior satisfactory evaluations, its record that remediation was completed, and its written summaries of meetings. See the patterns we see and the administrative leave checklist.

If this is happening to you

Facing a deadline from your program? Tell us what you have, what you could not get, and when your deadline is. We will review your situation confidentially and point you to the right next step: start a confidential intake.

Resident Help is not a law firm, and submitting an intake does not create an attorney-client relationship. If your situation needs a lawyer, we will tell you and help you find one.

Common questions

How do I get my residency file and evaluations?
Download what you can from your evaluation and logging systems while you have access. Then ask the program director and GME office in writing for your complete educational file, including committee records. Keep a copy of the request and the date you sent it.
What if evaluations appear that I have never seen?
Ask in writing for the creation date of every evaluation you had not seen before. Evaluations entered after an adverse decision, or never reviewed with you, are worth raising in any appeal.
Can I keep copies of my evaluations on a personal device?
Your own evaluations and logs are generally yours to keep. Do not take patient information. Check your institution's data policies before copying anything that contains it.

Sources

If this is happening to you

You can send us a short note in about ninety seconds. It is free, it is confidential, and it does not commit you to anything.

Start Intake

This post is general information and not legal advice. Institutional policies and board rules change, so confirm the version in force on your dates.