[2018-2019] Emergency Medicine Application Thread

[doggydog]

Congratulations everyone.

Hope some of you nerds matched at my program.

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[Cinclus]

Matched at my number 8, would have been happy anywhere above that but feel miserable now. Was told I was extremely competitive the entire time and would likely match to my number 1. I'm convinced no one knows anything and just spouts random BS. I feel sick. Might not accept my position. Have been feeling conflicted about medicine and residency for a while now and maybe this seals it. Happy for you guys who matched where you wanted to go and grateful for those of you who still want to practice medicine. I'm just not sure if its for me.

Matched my number 13 a few years ago. Was my home program, which I didn't dislike at all (good program and good people), but I was devastated to have to stay in the location for 3 more years, as I had really grown to hate it during medical school. A big part of the devastation was also due to realizing how close I had come to not matching AT ALL (I ranked 14 programs). I immediately took steps to improve things I disliked about living in the area (moved to a better part of the area, for starters), and despite my devastation, I soon realized how fortunate I was to have matched in my chosen field and was extremely thankful that my home program had obviously ranked me highly. They knew me well and seemed to have not paid attention to the late, negative SLOE that likely destroyed an otherwise strong application and removed me from any matchable position at any other programs. I resolved that I would do my best to be a great resident in my program, and it has been a great training experience among people I really enjoy working with. I will be finishing residency in a few months, and I feel confident in my training. I got the job of my choice in the location of my choice, and many great things have happened to me during the past three years that lead me to believe that it truly was "all for the best." I know that gets thrown around a lot regarding these types of situations, so it must be a common experience. But really, some of the best stuff that's happened to me in the past few years likely would have played out much differently if I had matched elsewhere, and I am very pleased with how everything has turned out. So I agree with what others are saying above. Take your time to fume and feel devastated. When you recover, make sure you don't make a choice you'll regret. I don't regret what happened. (But I still don't forgive so-and-so program for that SLOE; that **** was unfair. )

 

[eatkalteenbars]

I matched today at my #4! My top 3 were all pretty big reaches so I’m thrilled with the outcome. Just want to mention that I was on the waitlist for the program where I matched. Missed the first call in December about a cancellation so I didn’t get an interview spot; two weeks later they called again, thankfully I picked up and I was able to fly out and interview in mid-January. Just goes to show that a late invite doesn’t mean they don’t like you/won’t rank you highly!

 

[Seattleclimber]

I matched at my 11th out of 13 program. I think I must have been in a similar situation with a late, negative SLOE. Top 25% of my class, board scores in the 250s, waitlisted for interviews at prestigious programs like Highland and UCLA-Harbor. My first 2 SLoEs were top 1/3. Would have been thrilled to match anywhere in my top 5, and simply was not prepared to match so low. I’m devastated, but also just very confused as to how this happened. There was no hint from anywhere that I had any red flags in my application until today

 

[The Dayman]

Matched #2 on my list of 8 today, I’m extremely excited! The only reason they were ranked 2 is because it’s 2800 miles away! Well it looks like I’m going on a road trip.

 

[lucid_leprechaun]

I matched at my 11th out of 13 program. I think I must have been in a similar situation with a late, negative SLOE. Top 25% of my class, board scores in the 250s, waitlisted for interviews at prestigious programs like Highland and UCLA-Harbor. Would have been thrilled to match anywhere in my top 5, and simply was not prepared to match so low. I’m devastated, but also just very confused as to how this happened. There was no hint from anywhere that I had any red flags in my application until today

Happens unfortunately. Make the best of it, you may be surprised how much you like your program.

 

[RiverhawkXC]

DO student with what I believe were two mid 1/3 and one top 1/3 SLOE. 240s on both Steps. Received a late interview offer to my dream program. A very competitive program, and one I didn’t rotate at. Ended up ranking them first and matched there. All season I was so stressed about my two mid 1/3s, and that they were going to be the kiss of death and prevent me from matching in the top half of my list. Just wanted to post this for the future underdogs out there, and help ease some anxiety next cycle.

 

[Apollyon]

While I understand your disappointment, why did you even rank somewhere you didn't want to go? If you preferred going unmatched (ie not taking the spot you got) to matching there, why rank it?

Because, year after year, students with little to no real world experience make decisions that they deem best, despite there being literal hundreds or thousands of us that have gone through it (even last year), and freely give their advice, most of which is "do not rank a place you don't want to go". Now, this "throwaway" account has a person that states they might not take it. I wonder what was the med school that this person attended. I certainly didn't take a class in med school that educated me on being massively shortsighted. As far as bad decisions go, this one has 8 years behind it, and zero years ahead of it, if this person does this.

 

[GonnaBeADoc2222]

Because, year after year, students with little to no real world experience make decisions that they deem best, despite there being literal hundreds or thousands of us that have gone through it (even last year), and freely give their advice, most of which is "do not rank a place you don't want to go". Now, this "throwaway" account has a person that states they might not take it. I wonder what was the med school that this person attended. I certainly didn't take a class in med school that educated me on being massively shortsighted. As far as bad decisions go, this one has 8 years behind it, and zero years ahead of it, if this person does this.

I think the better advice is "rank every program you interview at, because why wouldn't you?"

Unless of course you want to take the risk of being unemployed now and unemployable in the future.

Lots of whining in this thread. Would you rather drive for Uber next year? I bet your unmatched colleagues would LOVE to have your 300K/yr income in 3 yrs.

 

[deleted245139]

I matched at my #6. One even told me I would match wherever I wanted, them included. Just wasn't expecting this at all. Bad location, reputation is okay. 3 years of hell.

It sure will be with that attitude... Do yourself and your future residency crew a favor and take some time to process things, and look at the positives. To echo the above, if you truly thought this program would be '3 yrs of hell's you really should have done yourself a favor and not ranked them....

 

[throwaway9876]

I just think the “don’t rank if you don’t want to go” is easier said than done. I definitely didn’t want to go there, but would it be worse than not matching? I don’t know, it’s a hard decision to make. I have been struggling with depression since my first AI and have been trying not to make permanent decisions based on this mental state. But at what point am I depressed because I don’t want to do what I’m doing and at what point do I not enjoy what I’m doing because I’m depressed? I’ve been trying to figure it out (seeing a therapist) but it’s no light switch and deadlines and match day keep coming. It’s easy to say it will get better in residency, get better after intern year, get better when you’re an attending, etc. Which is why I’ve just kept moving forward. It’s certainly true for some people that it gets better, but personally I’ve been saying that with each AI, BS 4th year rotations, and match day so when match day wasn’t what I hoped it hit extra hard. Not trying to make excuses, I hate that I might take a spot from someone else, and I understand it could get better/could work out for the best (I’m definitely a big believer in this) but it’s a hard call to make at what point do I prioritize my own day to day happiness? For some people that might be doing something else and maybe I’m one of them. Sure would hate to waste more time being miserable. The pressure of “if you don’t go or leave or take a break you are screwed forever” doesn’t help but I understand with the competition. I do appreciate all the honest feedback and just letting me express my thoughts by all those on here.

 

[enalli]

It’s easy to say it will get better in residency, get better after intern year, get better when you’re an attending, etc.

I can tell you that if you feel like this during the spring of your 4th year of medical school, it will certainly not get better in residency. But I can also tell you that if you leave medicine right now without a very solid plan, then it will get much much worse. Pick your poison.

 

[Rekt]

Because, year after year, students with little to no real world experience make decisions that they deem best, despite there being literal hundreds or thousands of us that have gone through it (even last year), and freely give their advice, most of which is "do not rank a place you don't want to go". Now, this "throwaway" account has a person that states they might not take it. I wonder what was the med school that this person attended. I certainly didn't take a class in med school that educated me on being massively shortsighted. As far as bad decisions go, this one has 8 years behind it, and zero years ahead of it, if this person does this.

Because the world is a different place from even a few years ago. You can deny all you want, but every year the match is harder than the year before. Depending on when you started your residency journey, it could have been as simple as just applying and walking through the door.

You know where the people from my class who followed the "do not rank a place you wouldn't want to go" are? They ended up in the SOAP. If you're applying to residency, you need to take every interview you can afford and rank every place you interview. It's very simple.

 

[enalli]

Because the world is a different place from even a few years ago. You can deny all you want, but every year the match is harder than the year before. Depending on when you started your residency journey, it could have been as simple as just applying and walking through the door.

It doesn't matter whether matching is easier or harder, the matching algorithm hasn't changed.

You know where the people from my class who followed the "do not rank a place you wouldn't want to go" are? They ended up in the SOAP. If you're applying to residency, you need to take every interview you can afford and rank every place you interview. It's very simple.

They didn't rank places that they wouldn't want to go to, and as a result they weren't forced to commit to said places. The system worked. I don't understand what your point is supposed to be here.

 

[John Red]

Think this whole "throwaway" situation sucks. It is a hindsight 20/20 kind of thing.

On one end, those who fall to places they would rather not be at feel as if though they would have been better off just leaving medicine.
Those that had to soap wished they would have not declined that Xth interview
& Those like my friend: who didn't match, didn't soap, cold called programs post soap, and now has a job in an entirely different specialty and is just glad he will be able to pay back loans one day.

I literally have no clue what you and others are going through but can only repeat some of the advise given above: get mad, get angry, throw things, cry, drink, hug, and most importantly take time to THINK. Hope you find the best solution that works for YOU.

 

[kenjixshadow]

The programs didn't fill are:
1) Palm Beach Florida (4/6)
2) Genesys Reg (5/7)
3) Henry Ford Allegiance Health (5/8)
4) Henry Ford Macomb (7/8) - btw, they sent out the 'highly unlikely" to match emails
5) McLaren Health Malcom (2/6)
6) McLaren Health Oakland (5/6)
7) Rowan University (7/11)
8) SUNY Upstate Syracuse (9/11)
9) Adena Health (2/6)
10) Memorial Health (4/6)
11) St. Elizabeth Boardman (6/7)
12) Aria Jefferson Health (3/4)
13) Lincoln Med military spot (0/1)

 

[SpacemanSpifff]

I just think the “don’t rank if you don’t want to go” is easier said than done. I definitely didn’t want to go there, but would it be worse than not matching? I don’t know, it’s a hard decision to make. I have been struggling with depression since my first AI and have been trying not to make permanent decisions based on this mental state. But at what point am I depressed because I don’t want to do what I’m doing and at what point do I not enjoy what I’m doing because I’m depressed? I’ve been trying to figure it out (seeing a therapist) but it’s no light switch and deadlines and match day keep coming. It’s easy to say it will get better in residency, get better after intern year, get better when you’re an attending, etc. Which is why I’ve just kept moving forward. It’s certainly true for some people that it gets better, but personally I’ve been saying that with each AI, BS 4th year rotations, and match day so when match day wasn’t what I hoped it hit extra hard. Not trying to make excuses, I hate that I might take a spot from someone else, and I understand it could get better/could work out for the best (I’m definitely a big believer in this) but it’s a hard call to make at what point do I prioritize my own day to day happiness? For some people that might be doing something else and maybe I’m one of them. Sure would hate to waste more time being miserable. The pressure of “if you don’t go or leave or take a break you are screwed forever” doesn’t help but I understand with the competition. I do appreciate all the honest feedback and just letting me express my thoughts by all those on here.

Once residency starts your mental health is almost certainly going to take a hit. It's hard for everyone, more so for people who deal with the added burden of mental illness. Take the remainder of 4th year to get a solid plan for your depression because once July 1 hits, your ability to make adjustments is going to be much more limited.

 

[Apollyon]

The programs didn't fill are:
1) Palm Beach Florida (4/6)
2) Genesys Reg (5/7)
3) Henry Ford Allegiance Health (5/8)
4) Henry Ford Macomb (7/8) - btw, they sent out the 'highly unlikely" to match emails
5) McLaren Health Malcom (2/6)
6) McLaren Health Oakland (5/6)
7) Rowan University (7/11)
8) SUNY Upstate Syracuse (9/11)
9) Adena Health (2/6)
10) Memorial Health (4/6)
11) St. Elizabeth Boardman (6/7)
12) Aria Jefferson Health (3/4)
13) Lincoln Med military spot (0/1)

I don't know what to make of this: exactly one of those programs (SUNY-Upstate) was, prior to this match, an MD program, only. Every other one was, prior, a DO program.

As I say, I do not know what to make of this. (And, likewise, I am not sure of the grammar of the prior sentence.)

Edit: Well, I forgot - Lincoln is an MD program, too, but, as stated, it was a military spot, anyhow.

 

[gamerEMdoc]

Its not that rejecting your spot is a career hit because you have to try and match again and matching as a reapplicant is hard. Its because rejecting your match spot ia violation of the match agreement/contract you entered into when you signed up for the match, and you won’t be eligible for the match again if you don’t show up. And if you can’t go through the match again, your chance of getting any residency program, let alone EM, is in serious jeopardy. When you enter the match, you agree to go to wherever the match sends you. Period. Residency contracts are year by year however, so if you are absolutely miserable, you can leave after a year, but you really need to be sure you have something lined up if you do this. Blindly quiting is going to put you at a big disadvantage of ever getting back into an EM residency.

Per the NRMP, regarding the should I rank a program I don’t want to go to question:

The Match Participation Agreement you signed electronically when you registered for the Match states that a match between an applicant and a program creates a binding commitment to accept a position if a match results and to start training in good faith (i.e., with the intent to complete the program) on the date specified in the appointment contract. Accordingly, if you place a program on your rank order list (ROL), you must be prepared to enter training and fulfill the terms of the contract.

I totally disagree that you need to rank every program you interviewed at. For instance, if a program absolutely would make you miserable and you’d rather SOAP into a TRI year and retry the next year, or you’d rather do FP somewhere than train in EM in that program, then don’t rank it. By not ranking a program that is what you are saying, that you’d rather SOAP into something completely different. And if someone hated a program bad enough, I could see the logic in not ranking a place.

 

[gamerEMdoc]

The programs didn't fill are:
1) Palm Beach Florida (4/6)
2) Genesys Reg (5/7)
3) Henry Ford Allegiance Health (5/8)
4) Henry Ford Macomb (7/8) - btw, they sent out the 'highly unlikely" to match emails
5) McLaren Health Malcom (2/6)
6) McLaren Health Oakland (5/6)
7) Rowan University (7/11)
8) SUNY Upstate Syracuse (9/11)
9) Adena Health (2/6)
10) Memorial Health (4/6)
11) St. Elizabeth Boardman (6/7)
12) Aria Jefferson Health (3/4)
13) Lincoln Med military spot (0/1)

Wow. Most of those are former DO programs I believe. I guess that means the merger benefited DO students as expected, allowing them to match into allopathic programs instead of pigeonholng them into a more narrow list of programs via a separate earlier match.

 

[deleted436726]

I did feel some disadvantage, since reapplicants seem to be frowned upon. EM programs that have either taken TY's, attached to TRI's, or had had one at the institution previously seemed to be ok with me. Realistically, you can go on 4-5. I had 2 outside, 1 at my home program and 1 at ACOEP. My TY holds 5 vacation days in reserve for us for interview, plus I was able to work my schedule around interview season. Also, programs that get accredited in January may do phone interviews (they did this year), that could increase your interview numbers

Thanks for the info...although it seems to paint a bleak picture for matching into EM as a reapplicant. 4-5 interviews is substantially less than the # I went on this cycle (which clearly wasn't enough to match). How do I find reapplicant-friendly programs or know if they've taken TY/TRI/prelim-year reapplicants? I suppose I could just Google to see which ones are at institutions with such residencies but that seems a bit labor-intensive.

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

So many Michigan programs. Is that typical?

The programs didn't fill are:
1) Palm Beach Florida (4/6)
2) Genesys Reg (5/7)
3) Henry Ford Allegiance Health (5/8)
4) Henry Ford Macomb (7/8) - btw, they sent out the 'highly unlikely" to match emails
5) McLaren Health Malcom (2/6)
6) McLaren Health Oakland (5/6)
7) Rowan University (7/11)
8) SUNY Upstate Syracuse (9/11)
9) Adena Health (2/6)
10) Memorial Health (4/6)
11) St. Elizabeth Boardman (6/7)
12) Aria Jefferson Health (3/4)
13) Lincoln Med military spot (0/1)

 

[AlvinKamara]

I don't know what to make of this: exactly one of those programs (SUNY-Upstate) was, prior to this match, an MD program, only. Every other one was, prior, a DO program.

As I say, I do not know what to make of this. (And, likewise, I am not sure of the grammar of the prior sentence.)

Edit: Well, I forgot - Lincoln is an MD program, too, but, as stated, it was a military spot, anyhow.

My friend is at a surgery pgy1 (not a prelim) wanting to transfer into EM. Have these places filled yet? How would he go about contacting these programs to fill their spots?

 

[Rekt]

So many Michigan programs. Is that typical?

I did an away in Detroit and as soon as I had enough interviews I cancelled all my Michigan offers. No idea why anyone would ever want to live there. Not surprising. Also I'm pretty sure a couple of these places SOAP all the time.

My friend is at a surgery pgy1 (not a prelim) wanting to transfer into EM. Have these places filled yet? How would he go about contacting these programs to fill their spots?

These spots are most likely long gone.

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

I trained there, but it was far from my first choice. And I left as soon as I could.

I did an away in Detroit and as soon as I had enough interviews I cancelled all my Michigan offers. No idea why anyone would ever want to live there. Not surprising. Also I'm pretty sure a couple of these places SOAP all the time.

 

[waynestatefarmington]

The programs didn't fill are:
1) Palm Beach Florida (4/6)
2) Genesys Reg (5/7)
3) Henry Ford Allegiance Health (5/8)
4) Henry Ford Macomb (7/8) - btw, they sent out the 'highly unlikely" to match emails
5) McLaren Health Malcom (2/6)
6) McLaren Health Oakland (5/6)
7) Rowan University (7/11)
8) SUNY Upstate Syracuse (9/11)
9) Adena Health (2/6)
10) Memorial Health (4/6)
11) St. Elizabeth Boardman (6/7)
12) Aria Jefferson Health (3/4)
13) Lincoln Med military spot (0/1)

Do you mind posting where do u get this info from? Any way to get info on IM and FM as well?

 

[Apollyon]

I trained there, but it was far from my first choice. And I left as soon as I could.

To be quite blunt, you want to train in really poor areas, because, unfortunately, the poor have worse problems, or let the natural course of disease progress further before presentation for help. Subsequently, there are better opportunities for trainees to do procedures, and perform more complex management. And, because one is a trainee, they are time-limited. There is a finite opportunity, and, then, when time is up, the person can "get out of Dodge on the first train".

So, as long as the resident can safely get to the hospital, or from the parking structure to indoors, bring it on!!

 

[Manny's Mangoes]

This happened to me. I matched but I applied to IM as a backup and now I am really dreading the possibility on ending up in IM

Matched IM. My application was ruined because of a SLOE that ended up being a red flag on my application, despite being a good candidate. I did not know of this until November. Oh well, life happens :/

Best of luck to everyone that matched EM!

 

[kenjixshadow]

x

 

[CardiacLion]

Honestly can anyone here comment on how bad this hit is going to be? I'm starting to get scared of how residency is going to fair. Granted I'm going to a 3 year program, 20 mins from home, with lots of friends nearby. But whats the best way to prepare for this? I don't have any active issues, but I know multiple people who looked like they had the life sucked out of them at times during their training. Don't want to experience that, and if its inevitable - would like to tackle it head on before it hits.

Once residency starts your mental health is almost certainly going to take a hit. It's hard for everyone, more so for people who deal with the added burden of mental illness. Take the remainder of 4th year to get a solid plan for your depression because once July 1 hits, your ability to make adjustments is going to be much more limited.

 

[alpinism]

Meh its not that bad.

Residency was 10x better than med school in my opinion.

Unless you're going to a workhorse program known for brutalizing its residents you'll have plenty of time off to spend with friends and family. Most places also start off slowly with an orientation month consisting of lectures, workshops, and a couple shifts per week. ED months are usually pretty chill and no one is expecting you to see more than 1 patient per hour even with low acuity patients since you still don't know how to do simple things like order a pregnancy test or chest x-ray. The hardest months are ICU and surgery which are lovingly referred to reaffirmation months since you remember why you chose emergency medicine in the first place.

 

[sylvanthus]

Dudes, for those hating where they matched, I also matched low on my list. Last EM/IM program, been stuck in a place the wife and I hate for 6 bloody years now. Thank the lord im getting out of the black hole that is new york. It can be done, will it suck, ya, prob, but itll get better.

 

[southerndoc]

Any residency is better than no residency.

 

[enalli]

It'll tell you each program whether they fill up or not

I didn't see this document on the NRMP website--was it released somewhere else?

 

[anon6134]

I didn't see this document on the NRMP website--was it released somewhere else?

It's on our NRMP portals once you sign in, not sure that it's released anywhere else yet

 

[gamerEMdoc]

Honestly can anyone here comment on how bad this hit is going to be? I'm starting to get scared of how residency is going to fair. Granted I'm going to a 3 year program, 20 mins from home, with lots of friends nearby. But whats the best way to prepare for this? I don't have any active issues, but I know multiple people who looked like they had the life sucked out of them at times during their training. Don't want to experience that, and if its inevitable - would like to tackle it head on before it hits.

It's a stressful job and that doesn't end at residency. But it does get better, each step of the way. Residency is way definitely better than medical school MOST of the time, but if you are on a particularly intense month, it may not be.

 

[GonnaBeADoc2222]

Honestly can anyone here comment on how bad this hit is going to be? I'm starting to get scared of how residency is going to fair. Granted I'm going to a 3 year program, 20 mins from home, with lots of friends nearby. But whats the best way to prepare for this? I don't have any active issues, but I know multiple people who looked like they had the life sucked out of them at times during their training. Don't want to experience that, and if its inevitable - would like to tackle it head on before it hits.

You will go through periods of self doubt and insecurity, especially as your learning procedures and trying to get better and faster at medicine. You will take some abuse from consultants, nurses, and attendings. You will be paid less than a first year nurse or a first year midlevel who have almost no education or training compared to you. You will have shift work sleep dysphoria. You will miss holidays and social events.

You'll get to do awesome fun stuff like central lines and intubations. You will be a role model for your junior residents. Once in awhile you'll make a great save and it'll feel awesome.

It'll get better each year. At a certain point you'll stop caring about what people think about you. When I was a PGY4 I would basically ignore the attendings I didn't like when they would make some off color comment to me about whatever.

 

[SpacemanSpifff]

Honestly can anyone here comment on how bad this hit is going to be? I'm starting to get scared of how residency is going to fair. Granted I'm going to a 3 year program, 20 mins from home, with lots of friends nearby. But whats the best way to prepare for this? I don't have any active issues, but I know multiple people who looked like they had the life sucked out of them at times during their training. Don't want to experience that, and if its inevitable - would like to tackle it head on before it hits.

You will go through periods of self doubt and insecurity, especially as your learning procedures and trying to get better and faster at medicine. You will take some abuse from consultants, nurses, and attendings. You will be paid less than a first year nurse or a first year midlevel who have almost no education or training compared to you. You will have shift work sleep dysphoria. You will miss holidays and social events.

As @gamerEMdoc and @alpinism have said residency is certainly more rewarding than med school. Your knowledge base and decision-making ability expand incredibly quickly. In the first 12 months you will run resuscitations, manage airways -- basically start to be the physician you want to be.
My comment was meant to encourage soon to be interns to identify and potentially build their support structures. For those with anxiety or depression most programs will have some sort of anonymous, and free, counseling service. Identify these outlets early and use them. Fortunately you have a built in system with your future classmates, co-residents, and faculty. The competition of med school is over. You will have unique strengths that can serve to buoy your co-interns, and weaknesses that will benefit from their help. Obviously having nearby family and friends is a bonus, but as you may have already recognized, non-medical folks may have a hard time relating to the challenges you face.

 

[AlvinKamara]

As @gamerEMdoc and @alpinism have said residency is certainly more rewarding than med school. Your knowledge base and decision-making ability expand incredibly quickly. In the first 12 months you will run resuscitations, manage airways -- basically start to be the physician you want to be.
My comment was meant to encourage soon to be interns to identify and potentially build their support structures. For those with anxiety or depression most programs will have some sort of anonymous, and free, counseling service. Identify these outlets early and use them. Fortunately you have a built in system with your future classmates, co-residents, and faculty. The competition of med school is over. You will have unique strengths that can serve to buoy your co-interns, and weaknesses that will benefit from their help. Obviously having nearby family and friends is a bonus, but as you may have already recognized, non-medical folks may have a hard time relating to the challenges you face.

Any advice on how to get faster at seeing patients? I feel really slow and struggle to juggle even 5-6 patients while keeping up with documentation. Meanwhile attending a are carrying 15-20 patients at a time sometimes! How?!?!

 

[doggydog]

Any advice on how to get faster at seeing patients? I feel really slow and struggle to juggle even 5-6 patients while keeping up with documentation. Meanwhile attending a are carrying 15-20 patients at a time sometimes! How?!?!

I know third year residents who arguably struggle juggling 6 patients at a time. Some people are just faster than others. You will get faster as you see more and don’t have to spend time thinking about what you need to order, when you can admit someone, etc. Mentally dispoing someone in your mind is a huge mental offload and allows you to focus on the rest of your board.

Also, want to see more people? Doing less notes will usually do the trick.

Attendings don’t count. They see few if any patients primarily. They aren’t doing notes, calling consults, admitting.

 

[Mat the coolcat]

Matched at my number 8, would have been happy anywhere above that but feel miserable now. Was told I was extremely competitive the entire time and would likely match to my number 1. I'm convinced no one knows anything and just spouts random BS. I feel sick. Might not accept my position. Have been feeling conflicted about medicine and residency for a while now and maybe this seals it. Happy for you guys who matched where you wanted to go and grateful for those of you who still want to practice medicine. I'm just not sure if its for me.

Man I went down to my #6 and was also super depressed on match day. So I get the feeling. All I can say is it worked out for me.

I matched at my 11th out of 13 program. I think I must have been in a similar situation with a late, negative SLOE. Top 25% of my class, board scores in the 250s, waitlisted for interviews at prestigious programs like Highland and UCLA-Harbor. My first 2 SLoEs were top 1/3. Would have been thrilled to match anywhere in my top 5, and simply was not prepared to match so low. I’m devastated, but also just very confused as to how this happened. There was no hint from anywhere that I had any red flags in my application until today

I matched at my #6. One even told me I would match wherever I wanted, them included. Just wasn't expecting this at all. Bad location, reputation is okay. 3 years of hell.

How are all of you THIS upset and ungrateful about matching? I'll trade places with any of you in a heartbeat after not matching 7 days ago despite 12 interviews.

Any location. Any program. Let's set up the trade for my TRI year. Tonight.

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

For me it was literally 20 years ago. I was upset at the time cuz I thought I was hot **** and would get a great spot wherever I wanted. I was also 23 and didn’t know crap about life at that point. EM was also vastly less competitive then, that cannot be overstated. I was just trying to provide some comfort/perspective to those who weren’t thrilled with their match outcome.

Things worked out fine for me. I had great training. You are 100% right that things could’ve been worse for me and the others you quoted.

I have been rooting for cajun and smurfette all year and was thrilled for them with their match. I will now be rooting for you. I think you are going to crush it.

How are all of you THIS upset and ungrateful about matching? I'll trade places with any of you in a heartbeat after not matching 7 days ago despite 12 interviews.

Any location. Any program. Let's set up the trade for my TRI year. Tonight.

 

[Seattleclimber]

How are all of you THIS upset and ungrateful about matching? I'll trade places with any of you in a heartbeat after not matching 7 days ago despite 12 interviews.

Any location. Any program. Let's set up the trade for my TRI year. Tonight.

You are 100% right. My partner and I were excited to move closer to my family and friends and get a fresh start for her away from her alcoholic mother; now we are literally on the other side of the country than we were expecting. I had a very strong application and apparently got burned by a late, bad SLOE that nobody bothered to tell me about. It stung a lot and still does. Mostly, it was the shock at falling so far down my list after being repeatedly told I was an outstanding candidate that made me disappointed.

But it's only taken 3 days for me to feel much better and realize that I'm still lucky to end up where I am. One of my oldest and closest friends also did not match and I am heartbroken for him. I know we'll probably never cross paths (and if we do, I'll never know) but if we do I'd be proud to call you a colleague. Best wishes in your career and I'm rooting for you in next year's match.

 

[Seattleclimber]

That's because the sloe is a ****ing piece of subjective **** as you have just demonstrated.

I actually did have one shift where I had a poor rapport with my team on that rotation, and I'll own that (I had a good reason, but that's neither here nor there). What is unfair is that I had excellent evaluations going into that shift, which was my last, and was given nothing but glowing feedback so I was unable to address my SLOE during interviews or, more importantly, be a better doctor and colleague.

 

[Mat the coolcat]

You are 100% right. My partner and I were excited to move closer to my family and friends and get a fresh start for her away from her alcoholic mother; now we are literally on the other side of the country than we were expecting. I had a very strong application and apparently got burned by a late, bad SLOE that nobody bothered to tell me about. It stung a lot and still does. Mostly, it was the shock at falling so far down my list after being repeatedly told I was an outstanding candidate that made me disappointed.

But it's only taken 3 days for me to feel much better and realize that I'm still lucky to end up where I am. One of my oldest and closest friends also did not match and I am heartbroken for him. I know we'll probably never cross paths (and if we do, I'll never know) but if we do I'd be proud to call you a colleague. Best wishes in your career and I'm rooting for you in next year's match.

I really appreciate you coming back and humbling yourself by saying this. The shock is real, if anyone gets that, it's me.

I totally get that there are more and less desirable places that we all wanted to be for residency on our rank lists, and all for excellent reasons. If there weren't, it wouldn't be a "rank list," it'd just be a big conglomerated lottery.

But truly, as long as you still believe you want to do emergency medicine, and you believe in yourself, you and your S/O will be thrive in the worst of circumstances. These trying times are what brings people together for life, and will also make you stronger as a person; steel has to be put in a burning furnace again and again, only to get stronger each time.

Best of luck to you as well next year, and thanks again for your post.

 

[Mat the coolcat]

For me it was literally 20 years ago. I was upset at the time cuz I thought I was hot **** and would get a great spot wherever I wanted. I was also 23 and didn’t know crap about life at that point. EM was also vastly less competitive then, that cannot be overstated. I was just trying to provide some comfort/perspective to those who weren’t thrilled with their match outcome.

Things worked out fine for me. I had great training. You are 100% right that things could’ve been worse for me and the others you quoted.

I have been rooting for cajun and smurfette all year and was thrilled for them with their match. I will now be rooting for you. I think you are going to crush it.

Hey thanks, that means a lot. I'll take all the support I can get!

It is an ego shot to end up low on the list, for sure. I just want everyone else here to feel that matching is one hundred thousand times better than not matching, and even if you ended up in the armpit of America, you're still killing it in my eyes.

 

[Apollyon]

I was also 23 and didn’t know crap about life at that point.

You graduated med school at 23? Started at 19? Did you go to college? Are you 1 out of 2million brilliant?

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

Nope I screwed that up. I was 24. July birthday, skipped first grade. Couldn’t legally drink in college. Turned 25 shortly after starting intern year. Not a genius but a precocious reader. Made matching to a 4 year program a bit less painful.

You graduated med school at 23? Started at 19? Did you go to college? Are you 1 out of 2million brilliant?

 

[astronauticaldoc]

Correct. The majority of programs write "group SLOEs" and decide as a group how all the students rank against eachother. Generally that process means waiting until either the beginning of Sept or beginning of October, and comparing all the students thus far as one big group, then writing all the SLOEs after that.

I am applying next year. Will I be able to apply to EM without a single SLOE, being that I have 2 auditions scheduled in July & August to be from places rumored to send in SLOEs in the timeline which you describe? If that's the case I'll only have 1 non-EM letter of rec from a 3rd year rotation by the Sept application deadline.

 

[astronauticaldoc]

Third year here, I have an audition at Beaumont Hospital Trenton, MI for EM. I overheard from a current MS4 that the program director does not fill out SLOEs. Is there anyone that auditioned there or know people who did, who can attest that indeed they do write SLOEs? I like the program, but if this rumor is true, I'll have to find another site to audition. (sorry for the awkward question)