Geographic Recruitment Outcomes

March 25, 2022 14:45

Review where your applicants are located and how your program's geographic reach compares to specialty-wide trends within Cerebellum.

1. What are Geographic Recruitment Outcomes?

The Geographic Recruitment Outcomes section in Cerebellum displays a map of applicant location data for your program and the broader specialty. It helps programs understand where applicants are coming from and how that compares to specialty-wide distribution patterns.

Programs may use this section to:

Identify where most of their applicants are currently located
Understand how applicant geography compares across the specialty
Review applicant data by current address, permanent address, or medical school location
Spot geographic trends to support outreach and recruitment planning

Note: Specialty-wide shading is only displayed for US-based applicants. International applicants are included in program-level data and plotted by current address, permanent address, and medical school or training program location.

Who can manage and view this feature?

Role

Permission

Institution Manager

Program Director

Program Coordinator

Program Administrator

Full Access

2. Before starting

Before using Geographic Recruitment Outcomes, make sure:

You have access to Cerebellum
Your program has applicant data available (via Cortex or uploaded directly into Thalamus)
Applicant address and medical school data has been imported

Note: If your program uses Cortex, applicant location data is included automatically. If your program uses Thalamus only, applicant data must be uploaded manually. See Authorizing Applicants from ERAS to Thalamus Core or Non-ERAS Applicant Import into Thalamus Core for instructions.

3. Understanding the map

The Geographic Recruitment Outcomes map has two layers of information displayed at the same time.

Map Element	What it shows
Colored dots	Your program's applicant counts within each location category
Yellow-orange shading	Specialty-wide applicant density, or the percentage of total specialty applicants located in each state based on current address

The default view displays applicants by current address for both the program dots and the specialty shading.

You can zoom in for a localized view or zoom out to see a global view of your applicant data.

4. Filter applicant location data

You can change how applicant location is displayed using the location filter options below the map.

To filter applicant location data:

Navigate to the Geographic Recruitment Outcomes section in Cerebellum
Locate the filter options below or alongside the map
Select one of the following location views:
- Current Address — where the applicant currently lives
- Permanent Address — the applicant's permanent home address
- Location of Medical School / Training Program — where the applicant completed or is completing their medical training

Note: The specialty-wide density shading always reflects applicant current address and does not change when you switch location filters.

5. How the data is aggregated

Understanding where your map data comes from helps you interpret it accurately.

Program applicant data (current address, permanent address, and medical school location) is pulled from Thalamus or Cortex:

If your program uses Cortex, this data is included automatically
If your program uses Thalamus Core only, applicant data must be imported manually using the ERAS or Non-ERAS upload process

Specialty-wide applicant density is calculated automatically using data from all programs participating in Thalamus across the specialty.

6. Frequently asked questions

Question	Answer
Why are some states not shaded?	Shading reflects specialty-wide data from Thalamus-participating programs. States with no shading may have no applicants from the specialty on record.
Does the map include international applicants?	Yes. International applicants are plotted by current address, permanent address, and medical school location. Specialty shading, however, only displays for US states.
What if my program's applicant data looks incomplete?	Applicant location data may be missing if it was not uploaded into Thalamus. Visit the upload guides linked in Section 2 to add this data.
Can I export this data?	Yes.
Why does the specialty shading not change when I switch location filters?	Specialty-wide density is always based on current address. Only your program's dot layer changes when you switch the location filter.