How does the match work?

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DO_Surgeon

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Ok, I understand that it is against policy to sign a contract before the actual match, but do program directors give any type of hint at the end of the interview that you are golden. What do most PDs say at the end of interview? Is it a pure waiting game until the offical match day or do most people "know" where they are going long before?

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According to match rules, either an applicant or a program director may offer assurances that the other will be ranked highly, but no such exchanges are valid until match day. On the interview trail, I received several such assurances... one program went so far as to Fed Ex me a signed letter saying that I'd been ranked #1. Most often, though, PDs would take me aside to say that if I really wanted to go somewhere, I just needed to let them know. By the rules, PDs can't directly ask you how you'll rank programs. If you're a competitive applicant, chances are excellent that you'll play these games. Although I was lucky enough to match at my top choice, many applicants who think they're a shoe-in are disappointed on match day. Trust no one, and go with your gut. Good luck!
 
doepug said:
one program went so far as to Fed Ex me a signed letter saying that I'd been ranked #1.

That's not against the match rules?
 
Sure its against the rules, but are you going to complain when you're being recruited?
I've learned to TRUST NO ONE. They'll call you at home, tell you how much they'd love to have you in their program, how you're a perfect match,...then on match day you rank lower. Not from personal experience, but I know someone who went through this. Very disappointed on match day.
 
Harrie said:
Sure its against the rules, but are you going to complain when you're being recruited?
I've learned to TRUST NO ONE. They'll call you at home, tell you how much they'd love to have you in their program, how you're a perfect match,...then on match day you rank lower. Not from personal experience, but I know someone who went through this. Very disappointed on match day.


Agreed. The Match makes a joke of free trade. The program directors WILL toy with you. They want you to rank them high, no matter who you are. I had multiple phone calls, from the residency director and assistant director of a large path program in the Southeast, to assure me I would be ranked highly and they hoped I would do the same. Obviously, things didn't work out as insinuated, or else I wouldn't be posting! :p Fortunately my "back up" options were excellent, and I'm happy where I ended up.

So, to reiterate: Trust no one!
 
to add to the confusion:

i believe, if you are an IMG applicant, they ARE allowed to sign a contract with you for a residency position. they are allowed to offer and you are allowed to ask only if you are an IMG.

i could very well be wrong though. anyone else hear this?
 
fireflyrxn said:
to add to the confusion:

i believe, if you are an IMG applicant, they ARE allowed to sign a contract with you for a residency position. they are allowed to offer and you are allowed to ask only if you are an IMG.

i could very well be wrong though. anyone else hear this?

Technically, all Independent candidates can sign a contract outside of the match. This includes IMGs/FMGs, DOs and physicians who are more than 1 year out of medical school. The NRMP has been talking about ending this practice, but so far, there has been no official ruling to prevent these independent candidates from signing outside the match.
 
Kimberli Cox said:
Technically, all Independent candidates can sign a contract outside of the match. This includes IMGs/FMGs, DOs and physicians who are more than 1 year out of medical school. The NRMP has been talking about ending this practice, but so far, there has been no official ruling to prevent these independent candidates from signing outside the match.

That's a bit of a double-edged sword it seems. If you don't jump on their offer, they might decide you're not all that interested in the program, and rank you lower, so that they can brag about getting all their top choice residents to match with them.

I also wonder if the one thing you can count on is this: if you get a negative vibe from the interview, you probably won't get ranked too high.

Ever the optimist,
-InductionAgent, MSIV
 
InductionAgent said:
That's a bit of a double-edged sword it seems. If you don't jump on their offer, they might decide you're not all that interested in the program, and rank you lower, so that they can brag about getting all their top choice residents to match with them.

that's a good point - i'd never thought of it that way. i'd always looked at it as advantageous.
 
The match is probably the most cruel process in the world. If it was the real world, we'd go interview for jobs and get offers, and if we got bad vibes we might look elsewhere for different jobs. The match fills all the jobs on one day, leaving many people with no place to turn.

Also, as a graduate who went unmatched, I would second the notion "trust noone". I was told by about 5 programs that I was sure to match and they'd love to have me in their program. Programs only care about one thing...making sure enough applicants rank them highly enough so that they won't have unfilled slots.
 
Jaded Soul said:
That's not against the match rules?

Technically, no. It's completely within the rules for a program to voluntarily offer information to an applicant regarding their ranking with the program, although generally discouraged. The caveat is that this is not considered to be a binding contract. Therefore, the applicant must not assume that this is a guarantee of a spot. If the program chooses to change their mind, they may still do so, so you must not rely too heavily on promises like this.

Conversely, it is acceptable for you, the applicant, to tell a program how you are ranking it, although this too is discouraged. Many programs know better than to take such information to heart. If you decide to tell a program that you are ranking them #1, just be aware that they might misconstrue that information as an attempt to find out where you rank, which is against the NRMP rules.

With that in mind, what IS against the rules is anyone soliciting information about where they are ranked. A PD can't ask you where you plan to rank them. An applicant can't try to weasel info out of a PD about where they stand with them. That DOES constitute an NRMP violation.

One of the attendings I worked with last year put it this way: Everyone is lying to everyone else during match season. There are lot of hints and innuendos being thrown around by both PDs and applicants, and most of them are meaningless. There are even quite a few bald faced liars out there. Don't believe anything you hear. As soon as you realize that 90% of what you are being told is probably B.S., then everything is cool.
 
Trust no one or you will get played like a violin. And it won't be a pleasant tune. I lost a lot of respect for the programs that tried to make a "game" out of the process. Programs are looking out for one thing - and it's not you.

You may hate the match, but beforehand, getting a position was all about connections, back-door deals, shady phone calls, game playing, and who your daddy was. No thanks. I think it's a little more merit based now. Not perfect, just better.
 
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