The final year of medical school is full of big decisions. Not only must the medical student decide what kind of medicine they want to spend the rest of their lives practicing , but they must also determine where they will go for a residency. The residency matching process is one of the biggest decisions that will be made throughout a doctors career. I've written out the steps of what has happened and what will happen so that you can gain an understanding of this process.
- Medical students complete their interviews.
Richard applied to about 20 programs. He was offered to interview at about 17/18 of them but only went through the process of about 6. These interviews took place between October and the end of January. Different residency programs offer different funding to help offset some of the costs. We were lucky enough that for Internal Medicine, many of the programs paid for hotel rooms. After interviewing at many wonderful programs, the interviewee must decide where they want to spend the next 3-6 years depending on the field they choose.
- Medical students submit their preferred list of residency programs (with the most preferred as the first choice) while residency programs rank their preferred list of students.February 26th (TOMORROW) is the big day that Richard will submit his rank list.
- The data from both the students and residency programs get entered into a computer database.
- The computer matches the residency program to a student.
On the Monday before Match Day (Black Monday), the students will find out if they have been matched with a program. Should they not match, students will "Scramble". Scramble means that they will contact different programs that have openings and ask to be taken into their program. The trouble is that students from all over the country are fighting for the same small percentage of spots.
- Graduating students receive their results in mid-march, which is also known as “Match Day”.
On March 21st, we will go to Columbia and there we will find out where he has matched. It is a huge milestone for the students and often family members attend. USCSOM will hold an assembly of sorts for the occasion. Students are called on stage at random and are presented with an envelope that tells them where they will be going. For all students with the exception of some military match people, this is the first time they learn where they will spend the next part of their career. - Previously in medicine, doctors applying for residency programs could make deals with hospitals to ensure they ended up at a place they wanted it. It was also common for students to match at a program and then attend another one after deciding that another hospital was a better fit for them. In today's world, that's no longer possible.I like to use the analogy of sports recruitment. Professional athletes sign a contract saying they'll go where they are drafted and this is exactly the same. Richard and I will go wherever he matches.
This is an incredibly exciting (and stressful) time for us. We are so anxious for match day to get here so that we can begin planning the next step in our lives. I am confident that wherever we end up will be the perfect place for us. It is however terrifying that all our lives rest in the functioning of a computer matching program. In just about a month, we will have some very exciting news to share with all of you and I promise there will be some pictures to go along with it!
- This is a video from University of Maryland Medical Schools Match Day ceremony. This is what closest resembles USCSOM's Match Day assembly. Match Day Video
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