Match Statistics

[AlienHand]

Listings in the SAEM residency catalog (http://www.saem.org/rescat/contents.htm#startCatalog) include a line that says "Number of residents and position in match." Most programs list just one number, the number of residents in each class. However, some programs list two numbers. The listing for UCLA-Harbor, for instance, reads "R1: 13 13 R2: 13 13 R3: 13 13". What does this mean? That they match their top 13 choices for 13 spots? I know Harbor is a top program, but it seems improbable that not one of their top 13 applicants would have ranked another program higher.

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[EctopicFetus]

I believe that it means that they had 13 available spots for that yr in the match and they ended up matching all 13 spots. I doubt anyone would go on there and state how far down their lists they had to rank.

 

[f_w]

Some programs won't put all of their positions into the match. Matching a resident obliges them to offer this person a contract. At times, funding for next years positions is not secured yet (since 1997, residency reimbursement from the feds is flat), so the hospital might not want to enter into that obligation. And there are allways enough medicine or surgery prelims in the market to fill these positions on short notice.

 

[trkd]

And there are allways enough medicine or surgery prelims in the market to fill these positions on short notice.

Do you mean ppl who only matched for a prelim position the year before?

 

[f_w]

> Do you mean ppl who only matched for a prelim position the year before?

Matched, scrambled, pre-matched. There is a pool of people in various prelim positions who didn't get into the competitive specialty of their choice. Others just don't have very strong credentials, and all they could get was a prelim spot somewhere (hey, someone has to score the 68s on the USMLE).

 

[trkd]

> There is a pool of people in various prelim positions who didn't get into the competitive specialty of their choice. Others just don't have very strong credentials, and all they could get was a prelim spot somewhere (hey, someone has to score the 68s on the USMLE).

I might be one of them so no comment. I got higher than that but life as an IMG trying to get into EM can be rough. Woe is us.