Fellowship couples match?

[lapooh]

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Is it possible to do couples' match for fellowships? I specifically ask if we are going into different residencies, and then on to different fellowships.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Depends on the fellowship although I suspect the answer is no.

Many do not use a centralized matching service. The ones that do tend to be specialty specific and are not linked with each other.

Finally, many have different deadlines (ie, the surgical fellowships are all different times, different years, etc. even though many are managed by NRMP). So I'm not sure how they could couples match when 1 resident is applying in their 4th year for 1 specialty and the other in their final year for a different specialty.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

...but you can if they are both medical specialties and you're applying in the same year. Virtually all of the medical subs (Cards, GI, H/O, neph, etc) are in the MSMP run by the NRMP, and the couples match is the same.

 

[Winged Scapula]

...but you can if they are both medical specialties and you're applying in the same year. Virtually all of the medical subs (Cards, GI, H/O, neph, etc) are in the MSMP run by the NRMP, and the couples match is the same.

I hesitated before posting my response above but being a typical surgeon, "sometimes wrong, never in doubt" I went ahead and posted anyway.

At any rate, my response is true for the surgical specialties.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

It depends on what fellowships you want to do. Depending on your field, getting a fellowship can be as easy as a couple of phone calls and an interview (many radiology fellowships, most non-NICU peds fellowships) to an extraordinary endeavor requiring outstanding performance, sterling recommendations, and significant research (some surgical fellowships like pediatric surgery).

 

[lapooh]

It depends on what fellowships you want to do. Depending on your field, getting a fellowship can be as easy as a couple of phone calls and an interview (many radiology fellowships, most non-NICU peds fellowships) to an extraordinary endeavor requiring outstanding performance, sterling recommendations, and significant research (some surgical fellowships like pediatric surgery).

Yeah, I guess one of would be doing the phone calls thing and the other some "moderate " endeavour.

If both the subspecialties go through the match but at different timelines, their match days being a week apart, a couples' match won't be possible, technically, right?

 

[gutonc]

Yeah, I guess one of would be doing the phone calls thing and the other some "moderate " endeavour.

If both the subspecialties go through the match but at different timelines, their match days being a week apart, a couples' match won't be possible, technically, right?

I think it would help people answer your question if you could be a little MORE vague and opaque.

 

[lapooh]

I think it would help people answer your question if you could be a little MORE vague and opaque.

LOL......I wish I could be........point is I have applied to 2 specialties for my residency (I dont want to say which as I don't want to answer the "Why.......?") , my spouse is already in a ROAD specialty. We were not able to couples match for residency but wanted to try doing so for fellowships.

Neither of us know right now what subspecialty we want to go into..........

 

[oldbearprofessor]

It depends on what fellowships you want to do. Depending on your field, getting a fellowship can be as easy as a couple of phone calls and an interview (many radiology fellowships, most non-NICU peds fellowships) to an extraordinary endeavor requiring outstanding performance, sterling recommendations, and significant research (some surgical fellowships like pediatric surgery).

Actually, PICU, Pedi cards, pedi EM, pedi rheum, pedi heme/onc and pedi GI all have matches in addition to NICU and the last couple of fields will start this year or soon. Unfortunately, they mostly have different match dates and, unlike what appears to be the situation in IM, I know of no couples matching mechanism.

It is true however, that most fellowships (this has a lot to do with the hospital/med school) are not very competitive and it certainly is possible to do some negotiating or trying to go outside the match in pedi. No guarantees though, especially with the tougher-to-match programs and hospitals.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Actually, PICU, Pedi cards, pedi EM, pedi rheum, pedi heme/onc and pedi GI all have matches in addition to NICU and the last couple of fields will start this year or soon. Unfortunately, they mostly have different match dates and, unlike what appears to be the situation in IM, I know of no couples matching mechanism.

It is true however, that most fellowships (this has a lot to do with the hospital/med school) are not very competitive and it certainly is possible to do some negotiating or trying to go outside the match in pedi. No guarantees though, especially with the tougher-to-match programs and hospitals.

My mistake. I didn't realize so many have formalized "matches" at this point. A peds guy was trying to recruit some students for peds and stated it'd be easy to get most fellowships with a few phone calls and a single interview. Of course, he's not in academics and is far removed from the process so not up to date. It's probably similar to community doctors telling premeds shadowing them that "you don't need this shadowing stuff, all you need to get into med school is good grades" 🙂