Interesting Match Day Stories and Communication

[JClaw7]

To Residents and Fellows,

What are your ophthalmology residency match day stories? How did you find out, were you in the OR, medicine floors or still had time off/interviews? What time did you get the email and/or call? What did you do that night?

(fwiw I've heard we will get a Thur Jan 12, 7am EST email for "if matched" then, depending on the program, a phone call anytime from 8am EST onwards, with official results posted the next day, Fri Jan 13)

Thanks!
-An anxious and bored MS4

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[DrZeke]

I was on a surgery rotation and had just finished pre-rounding with my team, I checked my email and it said congratulations you have matched. When I matched in 2013, we would find out where the next day.

Our administrators/Deans at the med school told us that we could text them to let us know by a certain time if we hadn't been called by our program. I think my program has since changed the way they do things, but for whatever reason I didn't get a phone call from them till 2ish PM. So around 8-9am I texted my dean and asked him where I matched. He told me... it was a little anti-climactic for me because some of my fellow classmates had gotten phone calls from their programs super early. So I was anxiously waiting for a while.

I am one of the rare people that went down a good bit on their rank list - right to the middle of it. But when I talked to others they all said they matched at their top choice. To be honest I'm not sure I believe them all. Maybe they are all that awesome, or maybe people in medicine are obsessed with saving face to others. I'm not sure... in any case, I was actually a little shocked and disappointed, but like everyone else I pretended not to be. I took a little time for myself to process privately and then moved forward. Honestly I'm so grateful I get to be an Ophtho and I'm happy with my fellowship match in the end, so I think things have worked out. And honestly if any of you know my story, you know I'm lucky to have matched at all

So some semi-optimistic pearls:

1) Matching into Ophthalmology is super hard

2) apparently most people end up in their top 3 and are really happy. (?)

3) Almost any program in this country will give you good training and all will allow you to be an ophthalmologist.

4) Match day is always this really exciting but anxiety provoking experience. It's normal to be nervous because people don't like staring a lack of control of a situation right In the face. The stakes are higher than the last time you had to apply to something (med school) and the system is foreign and scary. But it does work out in the end.

5) remember that you are very lucky people, and you ranked places for a reason.

6) just keep swimming!

Good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Equality]

I was sleeping soundly until around 7am, woke up for 10 sec to see the email from SF match that I have a place, and fell asleep happily until I got a call from the dean around noon who told me where I matched. It was very uneventful.

I did not match at my top choice nor at my home institution. No one called places on my behalf. I just knew I would end up where I'm meant to end up. In fact, I matched at a program where on my interview I had laryngitis and couldn't vocalize anything. The interviewers talked to me the whole time while I nodded. You never know.

I'm one of the rare people who totally didn't freak out about the match--submitted my rank list once, didn't look back, and was totally at peace before and after the match. When something's out of your control, you just go with the flow.

Good luck. Trust the match.

 

[Bronze Medal]

I was having breakfast when the call came in. I saw the city listed underneath the phone number and immediately burst into happy tears. It was not my first choice program, but it was high on my list and a very good fit for me. I'd been so anxious about the match and I was flooded with relief. I assured my future PD that I was crying because I was happy, not because I was disappointed. Ha! I think they believed me.

 

[JClaw7]

OP Personal update!

I got the email at 7am EST and a phone call from the program director by 8:15am EST!

(im posting this so the people who apply next year can have some idea how the communication works, at least for some programs. All of this occurred on the first day of the 2 day match event)

Congratulations to all!!!

PS- I don't have an interesting story, I was sitting on my couch, but I am going to get some waffles