Dismissal

[SamuelTesla]

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Im in a categorical residency and switching specialties. I have completed my interviews. I am fairly confident Ill find a spot on match day. The problem is my program has placed me on probation (in my opinion it is based on a giant misunderstanding). If my program dismisses me will it affect my chances of matching? Do I lose my spot if I do match? Do I have to inform my new PD?

I am doing everything to make sure a dismissal does not happen. But I would like to know the worst case scenario.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

It's a very good, and complicated question.

The match itself is not affected by your program. If you quit, or they dismiss you, the NRMP could care less. You still qualify for the match.

The question is whether you have to update all of the programs to which you applied about probation or dismissal. If the probation is "internal" (i.e. is a remedial action that is not part of your permanent training record), then you absolutely don't need to report it. If it's not an internal remediation issue or if you were dismissed, then whether you have to update programs is an interesting question. If anyone asks, then of course you have to be honest. But your application simply states that you were enrolled in a residency program when you applied via ERAS, which is true. I don't think you have any legal requirement to update that, if the new position doesn't depend upon successful completion of your current position.

A similar issue would be a student applying to a residency position and after submitting their application, failing a USMLE step. There's no requirement to alert programs to this. If a program asks, you need to be honest. But if they don't ask, then you don't have to tell them.

Now, critical to all this is understanding that even though you don't have to inform them, they might be quite angry when they find out afterwards. They might file for a match waiver based upon your omission, but I don't think it would be approved (but that's just my personal opinion, I have nothing to do with match waivers). You'll have to decide whether it's better to match somewhere who is then forced to take you and are angry at you on day 1, vs notifying programs but perhaps having more difficulty matching (or not matching at all).

Bottom line: fix the program, avoid the issue altogether is the best option. I don't think you have any legal requirement to inform programs. Of note, if your PD wrote you an LOR, they can update that with new information. But you'll need to decide whether omitting the information may cause more problems in the future.

 

[SamuelTesla]

It's a very good, and complicated question.

The match itself is not affected by your program. If you quit, or they dismiss you, the NRMP could care less. You still qualify for the match.

The question is whether you have to update all of the programs to which you applied about probation or dismissal. If the probation is "internal" (i.e. is a remedial action that is not part of your permanent training record), then you absolutely don't need to report it. If it's not an internal remediation issue or if you were dismissed, then whether you have to update programs is an interesting question. If anyone asks, then of course you have to be honest. But your application simply states that you were enrolled in a residency program when you applied via ERAS, which is true. I don't think you have any legal requirement to update that, if the new position doesn't depend upon successful completion of your current position.

A similar issue would be a student applying to a residency position and after submitting their application, failing a USMLE step. There's no requirement to alert programs to this. If a program asks, you need to be honest. But if they don't ask, then you don't have to tell them.

Now, critical to all this is understanding that even though you don't have to inform them, they might be quite angry when they find out afterwards. They might file for a match waiver based upon your omission, but I don't think it would be approved (but that's just my personal opinion, I have nothing to do with match waivers). You'll have to decide whether it's better to match somewhere who is then forced to take you and are angry at you on day 1, vs notifying programs but perhaps having more difficulty matching (or not matching at all).

Bottom line: fix the program, avoid the issue altogether is the best option. I don't think you have any legal requirement to inform programs. Of note, if your PD wrote you an LOR, they can update that with new information. But you'll need to decide whether omitting the information may cause more problems in the future.

Thanks for the answer. My PD did write me a good LOR. Are you saying it can be changed and reuploaded on ERAS without my knowledge?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Thanks for the answer. My PD did write me a good LOR. Are you saying it can be changed and reuploaded on ERAS without my knowledge?

Sure. I can always upload a new letter, and it would replace the old letter. But it's not like some big red light starts flashing telling programs there is a new letter. They would have to notice that the letter had been updated. (You can have ERAS give you a list of new updates to your active applications, not sure how often this is used by programs). You can't control whether your letter writers decide to write a new letter. If my letter no longer reflects your performance, I can change it.