Match Rates:
1. Undesireable programs have high match rates; but,
2. The more candidates the programs rank, the less likely they'll go unfilled; besides,
3. Always ask yourself, if a program fills, what are they filling it with?
Board Pass Rates:
1. Residents should be able to pass the minimal standard for their specialty; but,
2. If a program has good pass rates, do they produce good clinicians? (i.e. book-readers who can't take care of a patient), and
3. If a program has bad pass rates, is it because they have poor doctors or is it because they're too busy working to study for the boards? -- I had a "cowboy" program PD tell me once that he'd put their residents head-to-head with a resident from a good pass rate program and he'd invariably pick his residents because they're better clinicians. Maybe... The truth for that program was that the attendings were never around, and residents pretty much teach themselves. *eye roll*... really?...
4. At the end of the day, you can lead a horse to the trough, but you can't make them drink... Your board exam score is your responsibility and no one elses.
