LOW Osteopathic matching rates!?

[mig2k]

I just read in the EVERYONE forum that in 1999, ~31% of DOs where unmatched! This seems AWEFULLY high... what happens if you dont match? RB can you shed some light?

1/3 of DOs not matching is worrying me...

miglo

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[UHS03]

I believe that post was only giving results of the NRMP (which is the MD match.) Those numbers do not reflect the number of DO's that go unmatched overall..just in the MD programs.

 

[mig2k]

Whew! thanks for the info!

miglo

 

[rtk]

miglo;

UHS03 is right, the NRMP is only one of the residency match programs that you can pariticapate in as a DO (there is the AOA match and the 'MD' match; NRMP). The number of unmatched DO students presented each year for the NRMP is misleading for a couple of reasons.

First, many DO grads will participate in both the NRMP and the AOA match. Since the results for the AOA match come out earlier than the NRMP results (Feb vs March), those who matched in an AOA program may not withdraw from the NRMP, and also don't submit a rank list thus being counted as not matching. Second, many DO students sign contracts before the match. Again if they don't withdraw from the NRMP and don't submit a rank list, they are counted as not matching.

Of course there are those DO's who legitimately don't match. A few of my classmates ranked very competitive programs in OB/Gyn and surgery and didn't match and one ended up scrambling for a spot and the other went to an AOA program for internship.

Don't worry, as a DO grad, you'll find a residency spot in any field you want, be it AOA or ACGME (AKA: MD). Good luck...

Correction from RBorhani:
The 31% does not include those that did not turn in their rank order list as indicated above. It is % of unmatached ACTIVE applicants i.e. there were 1,451 DO applicants 185 withdrew and 282 did not rank any programs ... of the remaining 984 applicants 671 matched leaving 313(32%) unmatched.



[This message has been edited by RBorhani (edited 03-24-2000).]

 

[RBorhani]

Hi,
Check out the stats for yourself: http://nrmp.aamc.org/nrmp/mainguid/table2.htm
As previous posts have indicated the numbers reflect the NRMP match (MD). I would also check out http://nrmp.aamc.org/nrmp/mainguid/table.htm
for stats on various specialties (however the rest of these table include DOs and MDs in the same data pool).

If you do well in school, score relatively high on the board exam, and have good letters of rec you should have no problem matching in most specialties. Look at this table: http://nrmp.aamc.org/nrmp/mainguid/table10b.htm If % filled for a specialty is above 95% it means that it is a pretty competitive specialty and that you should do a bit more if you want to get into one of these specialties. Also, remember that these numbers have changed this year. For example for ER it is > 99% filled this year and same goes for some other specialties. % filled means that for example if there are 912 positions offered for ER and 99% filled there were less than 10 unmatched spots in the whole country. It was 7 for ER this year.

I am in the process of developing a web page for DO students who want to match in NRMP positions and I will include some of my experiences along with those of other DOs in NRMP programs in it along with various web sites that offer good resources and that you should know about. .
Hope this has helped a bit.

One other thing in reply to RTK :
The 31% is not including those who did not turn in their rank order list. It is the % of active applicants i.e. those that turned in their rank order list but did not match.



[This message has been edited by RBorhani (edited 03-23-2000).]

 

[PCSOM2002]

RBorhani,
Can you tell me where to find the information for this year's match? Also, do you know where one can find which programs did not fill in the match last year?I assume this year's data is unavailable this early (ACGME programs). There was a website with this information from a couple of years ago, but it has since been taken offline. Any info in this area would be appreciated.

[This message has been edited by PCSOM2002 (edited 03-23-2000).]

 

[RBorhani]

The unfilled program data for this year is available but only to those that have registered with NRMP (i.e. people who went through the match)...that is how people that did not match can scramble the day after the match results come out. It will be available to general public for purchase in about month or so. Also the overall match data will be available within the next few months on the NRMPs home page but again only a selected data will be on the web page and the rest you will get when you register with them or you can buy it.

The data you referred to in your post (1997 results) is still available: http://nrmp.aamc.org/nrmp/nrmpmat/results/rsbkmnu1.htm
But this is useless for the next match in my opinion



[This message has been edited by RBorhani (edited 03-23-2000).]

 

[PCSOM2002]

RBorhani,
Thanks for the info. I could not find this chart anywhere on the NRMP page. Where is the link from their homepage? Are the results for 1999 not available?

 

[RBorhani]

There is no link on their home page. But if you are good with html stuff its not hard to locate the web page.

The data for Match 2000 is available but you need a NRMP number and password. When you sign up with NRMP you will have access to the data or if you want the info sooner you can buy it from them. I can not post the info because it is not allowed by NRMP. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about the match.

[This message has been edited by RBorhani (edited 03-23-2000).]

 

[rtk]

RBorhani, thanks for the correction, I've had this misconception since I matched a few years ago... I guess DO's really do have a fairly poor success rate with the match, bummer.

I still want to believe that any DO who does well has control of their own destiny and is not at the mercy of the NRMP...

 

[RBorhani]

I believe rtk is absolutely correct. Dont let these numbers stop you from applying to a particular program or residency. These are just some guidelines. The way I look at it is that 70% matched, so you have a pretty good chance of matching. Do your homework and find out exactly what the stats are for your particular interest but don?t let these numbers deviate you from your ultimate goal.

[This message has been edited by RBorhani (edited 03-24-2000).]

 

[HW]

Just wanted to point out to you guys that the 28% unmatched rate was only for PGY-1 positions. That can be misleading.
For example, I'm a 4th year at TCOM. Of the ~75 people in my class who participated in the NRMP, 10 didn't match PGY-1. However, 5 of those 10 DID MATCH to PGY-2 positions...they just didn't match for an internship. This turns out not to be much of a problem because although there are smaller numbers of internships available through the NRMP, there are tons available through the AOA. So some of these people might have only ranked one PGY-1 position in the NRMP match, and planned to go into an AOA internship if their first choice didn't work out.
Don't let statistics mislead you. DO students, in my experience, do very well in the NRMP. So apply wherever you want, its completely up to you to get your residency of choice.

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hw

 

[RBorhani]

Number of osteopathic students matching this year is higher than Canadian students and all of the IMGs. Numbers went up again this year for osteopathic students: http://nrmp.aamc.org/nrmp/mainguid/table2.htm