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Match Week, or "where toshi will spend the next five years"

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,555
2011 update: See post #80. The short story is that I'll be coming back to Seattle in 2013.


i figure i'm allowed to be an attention whore this week. here's why:

this week is a HUGE week for senior medical students in the U.S. (in their 4th year of medical school, having already completed a bachelor's degree prior to having begun med school). this is the week when we find out where we'll be doing residency, and each day has its own special significance.

Cliffs Notes/short version: i find out today whether i have matched with a program. assuming i did match, then i find out on thursday which program i'll be doing my residency at. for my specialty, diagnostic radiology, that's the next five years of my life.

here's an expanded timeline of the residency application process:
late summer and autumn 2007 (near the start of the 4th year): programs researched, applications sent out, letters of recommendation obtained

november 2007-january 2008: interviews. it is not uncommon to interview at a dozen places in as many cities. this gets really expensive.

january 2008-february 27, 2008: applicants (students) figure out which programs of the ones at which they interviewed they'd like to go to, and submit a list in order of preference to a private website.

january 2008-february 27, 2008: residency programs figure out which students of the ones they interviewed they'd like to have as residents, and submit a list in order of preference to a private website.

(neither side is allowed to solicit information from the other on what these lists might contain -- it's a secret.)

february 27, 2008-march 16, 2008: computers at the National Residency Match Program churn away at these lists. the short version of their algorithm is that applicants will match at the program highest on the applicant's list provided that the program had the applicant on the program's list and there aren't any applicants that were higher on the program's list that are unmatched/do not have a program. the long version is explained here: http://www.nrmp.org/res_match/about_res/algorithms.html


and, finally, we come to today:

today, monday march 17: at 12 noon eastern we receive an email that says whether we "matched" or not. we don't find out where we'll be, just whether we have a program lined up. in my case, doing Diagnostic Radiology, i have to programs to match to: an internship (post-grad year 1) and radiology residency (post-grad years 2-5). i will find out today whether i matched to one, the other, both, or neither.

if an applicant did not match to a program then they Scramble.

tomorrow, tuesday march 18 is Scramble Day. starting at noon eastern a list of residency programs with unfilled positions is made available to the applicants that do not have a program to call home. frantic emailing and phone calling ensues, and decisions are made over the phone after the briefest of brief interviews.

finally, thursday march 20 is Match Day. at noon eastern school administrators across the country hand their senior med students an envelope. inside this envelope is the program that we're legally bound to (by matching we're in a binding contract to perform at least one year's worth of residency for the program).
-toshi, 4th year med student at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, WA
 
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Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,555
like I said in the earlier thread, good luck with this I know its stressful.
good luck!
I couldn't imagine how slow time must be going.. Hopefully you get placed somewhere you can enjoy
thanks. i'm not sure if i'll partake but there will be a ton of drunk med students on thursday morning (9 AM here)...
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,521
7,073
Colorado
good luck. Hopefully you don't get stuck in a back country hospital.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,945
13,137
Portland, OR
Wow, talk about a long time coming! Congrats on making it this far, and good luck on the downhill slide.

Hurry up and wait, sounds like the military. :D
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,555
Crap. Got the email.

Didn't match to internship or radiology.

This means I scramble for an open internship tomorrow then reapply for radiology next year, to smaller programs.

:(

Not good news at all.
 

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
Keep your chin up Toshi, disappointment is often the catalyst for opportunity.
 

BMXman

I wish I was Canadian
Sep 8, 2001
13,827
0
Victoria, BC
Crap. Got the email.

Didn't match to internship or radiology.

This means I scramble for an open internship tomorrow then reapply for radiology next year, to smaller programs.

:(

Not good news at all.

hey you never know...maybe there is something else that's just waiting specifically for you...D
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
Look at it this way man, there's always the option of a "research year."

I had a great many friends of mine go this way, they turned out alright.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,555
I already have enough research. Don't think that was the issue. Aghagh. Who knows, maybe there'll be a rads spot in the scramble. Rare but it can happen.

Otherwise I may have a free year:

Graduate in June
internship that I scramble to from July x a year
apply during that year
year off since the process assumes you're applying as a 4th year, not a PGY1
Start radiology July 2010
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
A lot of my rugby and drinking buddies ended up going through this process. On some levels it sucked for them, lots of guilt and associated crap, but in my opinion they turned out better then the folk who walked right into the whole golden internship thing. Made them sweat a little, showing that even with 4 years in school nothing is assured.

You'll come out alright I suspect. I hear you can get in with Tulane pretty straight across. PM me if you need a name to contact.
 

loco-gringo

Crusading Clamp Monkey
Sep 27, 2006
8,887
14
Deep in the heart of TEXAS
Crap. Got the email.

Didn't match to internship or radiology.

This means I scramble for an open internship tomorrow then reapply for radiology next year, to smaller programs.

:(

Not good news at all.

Perhaps a joke will help. I was talking to my wife's co-worker and she told me about an ortho candidate that had to scramble. Apparently if you don't make the cut you need to look into other fields other than orthopedics. I said, "dang it, I guess I'll just be a urologist. It's still working with bones, but a different kind." :D

I hope it all works out Toshi. I have my fingers crossed for you.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,555
Thanks, dirk. I'll have the whole list of unfilled positions tomorrow.

Scramble day:

8 am
show up to dean's office, get set up in a conference room with a radiology faculty member, a phone, a laptop

8:45 am
list of unfilled programs made available on the web, scour list to see what might fit

9 am
start calling/emailing like mad

???
find a spot?!
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
Let me know if Tulane has any openings, I just checked into it and we have a pretty good in with a guy in that program.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,555
Could you be a doctor of repetitive movement injuries, specializing in Gran Turismo?
i could do any number of fields (and rehab medicine is easy to get). but the one i want to do, radiology, is difficult, as i've found out.

i thought i was set, though. had the numbers, grades, UW's a decent school, etc.

i ranked 8 programs. according to page 118 from this pdf http://www.nrmp.org/data/chartingoutcomes2007.pdf listing last year's outcomes, my chances were 36/39, or 92+%, that i'd match.

i guess i'm just lame enough to be part of that 8%. agh.