I’m just another applicant so I don’t have any insight to the PD side of things, but I would say the number of applicants is more to blame than any part of your application. Most of my interviewers said they had more applicants this year than they’d ever had before. I’m interested to see the stats on how many people applied to psych this year.
Official 2018 Rank Order Lists
I’m just another applicant so I don’t have any insight to the PD side of things, but I would say the number of applicants is more to blame than any part of your application. Most of my interviewers said they had more applicants this year than they’d ever had before. I’m interested to see the stats on how many people applied to psych this year.
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There’s a thread from Nov - Dec in the psych forum (I’m 99% sure that’s where it is) with a link to a PDF with official numbers of number of applicants broken down by specialty over the past ~18 years. I either saved it or sent it to someone, so I’ll do some digging later tonight and post the link if someone doesn’t beat me to it.
The PD at my school and programs where I interviewed reiterated the info regarding number of applicants this year as well - which makes me wonder if the number of applicants and average number of programs applied to per applicant influenced what’s available in SOAP based on the deviation in the trend of available psych spots in SOAP over the past few years.
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Thank you for posting that, narrowing down my list of obligations tonight, and subsequently giving me more drinking time.
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The only red flag is that you’re an FMG. FMG, IMG, and DO will all feel the squeeze before MD’s in America. For better or for worse.
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Given the incline of graduates as well, I wonder how long the system can hold out until some kind of application cap is put in place. With so many people applying to 50+ programs, PDs are now required to sift through thousands of applications, and psychiatry seems to be particularly hit by this phenomenon.
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~80% increase in number of USMG with only ~30% increase in total number of residency positions and a ~50% increase in number of applications per USMG. That is most notably an increase from 31,000 applications by USMG's in 2013 to 71,000 in 2017.
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Jesus... I managed to be a mediocre med student at the last possible time.
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Haha, this is exactly what I have been thinking about all day! And in my case, "mediocre" would probably be generous. I got to help out with candidate interviews this year and every single one of the candidates had a way more impressive record than I did four years ago. Talk about feeling like a fraud! Congratulations to all of you who made it through this ridiculous journey! And to those who didn't match, please know that this is a highly arbitrary and bizarre system that says nothing about your value as a human being. Don't give up.
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Lol. As a mediocre medical student that just matched, I very much feel like a fraud!
Buuut this is the internet... I take everything posted here with a grain of salt, especially those "spectacular" stats.
Anyway! Good luck to everyone participating on the SOAP, my heart goes out to you.
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It probably wasn't your interview skills.
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It is a relief because I tend to blame myself for this result. But in fact I did my best.
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[congrats Satan] 
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Did Satan get some good news? I hope so.
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Just popping by here for 1 post or 2, as an IMG who comes to the U.S. it is almost impossible to do anything clinical involving direct patient care LEGALLY. It is incredibly difficult and I wish PDs understood that. How are we expected to fill gaps when the best thing we can do is scribe or volunteer. By not being a student anymore I am not protected by any "malpractice insurance" so no hospital in my area will allow me to observe. Let me emphasize the word LEGALLY observe, sure I can follow a doctor around but until someone finds out that opportunity is finished. Here I am, M.D. but not licensed to do absolutely anything to help me become a better physician by gaining experience with patients. Paying $2-3k a month for some externship in the middle of nowhere at a private clinic is ridiculous, and I really wish these companies would just disappear and stop taking advantage of students/IMGs. Their hospital placements are also sketchy and probably not always legal. I'm sorry for hijacking this thread, it just upsets me because I would do anything to match Psych next cycle.
Anyways, good luck to you all and congrats to those who matched!
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There are some places where you can gain actual experience and get paid. Look into being an "Assistant Physician" in Missouri: Assistant Physician Law
Try and get a position in a lab doing research and study to pass Step 3 before the next cycle.
Get a non-clinical job but get involved with volunteering/coordinating for mental health advocacy groups.
There are options out there, but they will likely not be doing things that residents will do. The goal for that year is not necessarily to get clinical experience (though, that may help), it's to make sure you're taking steps to ensure a position next year. There's also a few threads on here with links to job sites for med school grads who didn't match. These are paths that can either become careers or help with gap years. If I can find the threads or website links I'll post them here, but so long as you can get to the US legally, there are options available.
It sucks not to match and I can imagine how stressful the situation would be, but there are options and I hope those who end up not finding a residency position are able to find something that will give them a better shot next year.
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Congrats!!! Hope to hear more about it on Friday. (Dunno if it's a violation or not.)
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You didn't go to 4 years of Satan Medical School to be called *Mister* Satan!
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Unless you're in the U.K.
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Hi all! Wanted to post my story. Maybe it'll help someone struggling. I applied psych this year. My board scores were average. US D.O. Took all Comlex(obviously) and USMLE Step I but did not take step 2. Was going through divorce at the time and thought it'd hurt rather than help. Did almost exactly average on Comlex Level II, passed PE on 1st attempt. Pre-clinical pretty average. Lots of positive comments on MSPE from preceptors. My application was very strong for a different field. I'm the type of person who takes opportunities as they come and a lot of them were not in psych. Had the opportunity to help a mentor in her time of need and jumped on it but again...wasn't in psych. So my overall application was not super strong for psych but from all my other life experiences I knew it was what I wanted to do. Had a lot of personal experiences that I did not share in my PS that would have made my interest in psych more clear. I was advised by some to use them in my PS and by others not to. I chose not to and know that my PS was weak. Long story short I applied to 50 programs and ended up with 5 interviews. Loved all the programs. Loved the PD's. Met many AMGs and IMGs that I would have loved to work with. I'm sad thinking that some of them didn't match.
I knew psych was competitive this year so I made sure the rest of my rotations late fall and this spring were in general medicine and a few medicine sub-specialties. Mostly because I knew I was weak in medicine and didn't want to be so anxious over it (found best way to address my anxiety is through preparedness). I got a letter of recommendation from a medicine rotation. Wrote up 2 more personal statements for 2 different fields in my "what if I don't match" panic over last weekend. Even with all this I still thought I would match and was super excited to end up at any one of the programs that interviewed me. I thought all of my interviews went well.
Monday morning I got the email that I didn't match. From that point on I felt the next few days were a complete blur. I literally set a timer for 5 minutes Monday morning and allowed myself to cry. Just long enough to get some emotion out but not long enough for a perma-cry face(my cry face is terrible). Then I quickly contacted my advisers at my school alerting them to the situation and asking them for help and advice. I wasn't embarrassed by not matching. I'm non-traditional and many things have been a struggle and I learned a long time ago there is no shame in falling down(literally...even in front of my whole medical school class during lecture one day).
I used all 45 of my applications in SOAP to apply for all psych and neuro open positions and also IM positions. I received 7 phone calls from IM programs, none from psych or neuro. All but 1 saying what a great fit I'd be. One was a rude PD and I'd be surprised if their program filled(2nd round of soap all their positions were still available). Anyway, first round of soap, no offers. I cried after that for a couple minutes...then got to sending emails to programs I interviewed with that still had positions available. 2nd round of SOAP and I got one offer to a program I didn't interview with but was highly qualified for. I took the offer. It wasn't psych. I'm still disappointed and sad that I won't be going through residency with a lot of the great people I met on the interview trail. Sad that I won't be at any of the amazing programs I interviewed with. At the same time extremely grateful to have a position in a field I am interested in and have a lot of experience in. Everything kind of came full circle because it was the field I had been originally interested in on start of medical school before my clinical experiences in psychiatry.
Any of you who SOAPed into other fields, or who didn't get a position in SOAP(which may be better then doing something you hate..life is short and your time is valuable)...we can still take what we have learned through our rotations and personal experiences in psychiatry and use it in fields where patients don't get that kind of viewpoint from everyone. I think a lot of us are needed in other fields in medicine. While we love psychiatry and the viewpoint of medicine that comes with it...being in the field and presenting that is easy. Going into other fields and bringing that with us is challenging and will create positive change in medicine if we allow it to. I'm not going to change my view on patient care, my passion for helping vulnerable populations and my desire to advance processes on physician well-being. I'm going to throw it right into the field I'm in which may be harder because it isn't set up for that but I think it's an opportunity to make a huge difference(idealist here). So take who you are into wherever you go. Every day you encounter people who will benefit from your knowledge and life experience no matter what you do.
Don't be ashamed or feel like a failure if you fall. It's ok and it really does make you stronger and gives you more experiences to help others with. Sounds cheesy but it's true. I've fallen and lost and had all kinds of moments where I thought...this is it...and had my pitty party...then somehow got up and kept going. You were smart enough to get this far...you belong here....and this is not the end. Give yourself time to recover from the emotional dump that comes after this process and then you'll figure something out. Ask for help and don't try to do it alone.
To all those who matched this week congrats! You worked hard and deserved it! No one is a fake...we all end up where we are supposed to be.
I knew psych was competitive this year so I made sure the rest of my rotations late fall and this spring were in general medicine and a few medicine sub-specialties. Mostly because I knew I was weak in medicine and didn't want to be so anxious over it (found best way to address my anxiety is through preparedness). I got a letter of recommendation from a medicine rotation. Wrote up 2 more personal statements for 2 different fields in my "what if I don't match" panic over last weekend. Even with all this I still thought I would match and was super excited to end up at any one of the programs that interviewed me. I thought all of my interviews went well.
Monday morning I got the email that I didn't match. From that point on I felt the next few days were a complete blur. I literally set a timer for 5 minutes Monday morning and allowed myself to cry. Just long enough to get some emotion out but not long enough for a perma-cry face(my cry face is terrible). Then I quickly contacted my advisers at my school alerting them to the situation and asking them for help and advice. I wasn't embarrassed by not matching. I'm non-traditional and many things have been a struggle and I learned a long time ago there is no shame in falling down(literally...even in front of my whole medical school class during lecture one day).
I used all 45 of my applications in SOAP to apply for all psych and neuro open positions and also IM positions. I received 7 phone calls from IM programs, none from psych or neuro. All but 1 saying what a great fit I'd be. One was a rude PD and I'd be surprised if their program filled(2nd round of soap all their positions were still available). Anyway, first round of soap, no offers. I cried after that for a couple minutes...then got to sending emails to programs I interviewed with that still had positions available. 2nd round of SOAP and I got one offer to a program I didn't interview with but was highly qualified for. I took the offer. It wasn't psych. I'm still disappointed and sad that I won't be going through residency with a lot of the great people I met on the interview trail. Sad that I won't be at any of the amazing programs I interviewed with. At the same time extremely grateful to have a position in a field I am interested in and have a lot of experience in. Everything kind of came full circle because it was the field I had been originally interested in on start of medical school before my clinical experiences in psychiatry.
Any of you who SOAPed into other fields, or who didn't get a position in SOAP(which may be better then doing something you hate..life is short and your time is valuable)...we can still take what we have learned through our rotations and personal experiences in psychiatry and use it in fields where patients don't get that kind of viewpoint from everyone. I think a lot of us are needed in other fields in medicine. While we love psychiatry and the viewpoint of medicine that comes with it...being in the field and presenting that is easy. Going into other fields and bringing that with us is challenging and will create positive change in medicine if we allow it to. I'm not going to change my view on patient care, my passion for helping vulnerable populations and my desire to advance processes on physician well-being. I'm going to throw it right into the field I'm in which may be harder because it isn't set up for that but I think it's an opportunity to make a huge difference(idealist here). So take who you are into wherever you go. Every day you encounter people who will benefit from your knowledge and life experience no matter what you do.
Don't be ashamed or feel like a failure if you fall. It's ok and it really does make you stronger and gives you more experiences to help others with. Sounds cheesy but it's true. I've fallen and lost and had all kinds of moments where I thought...this is it...and had my pitty party...then somehow got up and kept going. You were smart enough to get this far...you belong here....and this is not the end. Give yourself time to recover from the emotional dump that comes after this process and then you'll figure something out. Ask for help and don't try to do it alone.
To all those who matched this week congrats! You worked hard and deserved it! No one is a fake...we all end up where we are supposed to be.
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AH can't believe we find out tomorrow! Do the program directors know by now where we matched? Curious why they let them know early!
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PDs find out at 2, our schools found out this morning at 8. Match Calendars - The Match, National Resident Matching Program
And I assume programs need a little time to get things rolling from their end to welcome us and/or the NRMP delights in our angst.
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I took a Neuro spot too. Maybe we'll be at the same program! You can get licensed as a therapist and then after residency during your practice devote certain days to doing therapy. What I saw when working in a movement disorder clinic were a lot of unique psychiatric issues that come up for people with Parkinson's etc and we were constantly trying to get them in to see a psychiatrist or therapist but had almost impossible times finding openings...and no one specializing in their specific kind of psychosis or therapy needs. I don't know the details on how reimbursement would work but I bet it can be figured out. I am too considering behavioral neurology fellowship in the future too.
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Remember, Freud was a neurologist.
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Lol my poor PD
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So watching the NCAA tournament is NOT helping me overcome the anxiety from earlier this week. I have RI winning on about 70% of my brackets. Heading to the gym where I can at least expend the nervous energy as I watch the games.
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I had a patient whose psychoanalyst was a retired cardiologist.
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Yeah if you want to join the cult of analysis you definitely do not have to be a psychiatrist.
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We have a pain neurologist in our system that is a wizard of CBT, while doing pretty amazing psychodynamic formulations as well. After residency, it's what you CHOOSE to do.
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I mean, the subject of our "malignant" thread seems to be a cash therapist without any formal training at all.
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I am happy I matched but with the amount of high quality people SOAPing I have convinced myself I am falling down my rank list
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I have had the exact same thought. Random moments of panic throughout the whole week.
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Please don't be nervous, and you are both gonna be fine and end-up awesome programs, I know.
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I am so happy things worked out for you! Congrats! I hope you get over the stress of your divorce very quickly
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On this match eve I’ll just put out to all those anxious applicants a personal anecdote. I did not match to my first choice and was quite somber that afternoon. But now half a decade down the road I wouldn’t want to have trained anywhere except where I matched. Your probably going to get very good training wherever you end up and more importantly will become friends and colleagues with amazing people. Have fun tomorrow whatever is in that envelope!
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As someone who's spent 8 years in a place I never saw myself matching, to put it mildly, I'll agree with Armadillos. Life throws you some good curveballs every once in a while.
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less than a week ago you were frantically preparing to apply to programs that don't even exist because you were convinced you hadn't matched. be happy and thankful that you've matched regardless.
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Entitlement runs rampant...
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Come on, that's harsh. I'm very grateful that I matched, but I won't lie and say I won't be somewhat disappointed if I match below my 6th choice (or even my 3rd). Doesn't mean I won't be happy or am ungrateful, just means I have strong preferences, which is a completely legitimate sentiment.
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I don't know if it was harsh. This really wasn't directed at you, as you didn't make the statement: "as long as I match Xth place I'll be happy and thankful". Do you mean to tell me that if he matches 9th place, packs his bags, and spends 4 years acting like he "did the program a favor", he would be justified in his behavior? Like splik said, he was just complaining about having nothing... I can understand having a mature moment of discontent with placing somewhere other than your favorite few choices, but the moment you show up you better be prepared to drop the entitled and ungrateful act and learn Psychiatry. More importantly, someone who would be appreciative for the spot was waiting for it and it never came to them. Thats all. Always good to check our ego at the door and maintain perspective. Most of us wouldn't know whats good for our careers/future as an intern if it smacked us in the face.
Therefore... 1) trust the process, 2) work hard, --> and all will turn out, albeit at times with a bump along the way -- thats life though. Good luck and congratulations on your match day tomorrow! Celebrate and enjoy this time you've earned.
Therefore... 1) trust the process, 2) work hard, --> and all will turn out, albeit at times with a bump along the way -- thats life though. Good luck and congratulations on your match day tomorrow! Celebrate and enjoy this time you've earned.
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Also a teaching moment for future applicants. DO NOT apply to programs you do not want to match to.
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I realize I didn't make the statement, but I feel like I can relate to what he's saying and I don't think the above is actually what he's trying to convey. He said he'd be "so happy" to match in his top 8. The doesn't mean he won't be happy matching below that, just that he won't be as happy. I get that. I'll be happy wherever I match, but I'll be absolutely thrilled if it's in my top 3 and still very, very happy if it's my top 6.
I just thought it was harsh to jump at him for saying he'd be happier to match at some places over others (which we all would be) and assuming that he wouldn't be happy or grateful below that.
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