Couples match separate?

[NRAI2001]

I was talking to one of the interns at the hospital we re at right now and we was telling us that the "couples match" is almost like a separate match in of its own in ways.. basically PDs have to know ahead of time that you are "couples matching" officially and they have to select certain preferences when ranking you?

Is this true? There was one or two programs that we later spoke with again that had forgotten that we were a couple and a few PDs that told us that they rank all couples separately... what does this mean? Is the "couples match" something that PDs must be made aware of early on ... or is it just a preference that applicants put down on their ROL with all the permutations..etc.

Basically was the intern correct in saying that it is its own match inside of the match? OR is it basically just more of a way for applicants to set their preferences?

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[NRAI2001]

On further investigation I believe that the couples match is basically a way for applicants to set their preferences... not really a separate process for the computer or anything.. correct me if I m wrong please... got 4 days to figure this out and make a wise ROL.. those of you who dont have experience with the couples match it makes the match so much more stressful.. we were about to submit our lists and just forget the match for awhile... but now realize its not as easy as just submitting a list for couples..

 

[NotAProgDirector]

There is no seperate "couples match". It's part of the main match. Whether PD's know or do not know you are couples matching is completely immaterial. All the couples match does is allow you and someone else to link your matches -- such that you might give up a "better" match for you in order to have a linked match with "them".

There is no need to tell PD's that you are couples matching. If you do, it MIGHT affect where they rank you -- if you're applying to different fields, it's possible that one program may ask another to bump the partner up the list to get both -- but then again they might do the opposite also. If both are applying to the same program, it's possible that the program could decide to rank the two people consecutively, either by bringing the lower ranked person up to the higher, or vice versa.

But ultimately it drives the match based upon the two of you matching as a unit, rather than individually.