Movement Disorders Match 2025

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DrStephenStrange

DrStephenStrange

Neurology PGY-4
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Anyone else applying movement this year? With the application opening tomorrow, I figured this would a good place to congregate and talk about all things related to this whole process.
 
Hey, I’m applying for Movement Disorders this cycle as well! With SFMatch opening tomorrow, its great to have a space to discuss the process. Has anyone been able to confirm which programs are participating in SFMatch vs. those outside of it? I found an Excel file listing ~60 programs, but Im not sure if its comprehensive.
 
youreasquarewaveJERK said:
Hey, I’m applying for Movement Disorders this cycle as well! With SFMatch opening tomorrow, its great to have a space to discuss the process. Has anyone been able to confirm which programs are participating in SFMatch vs. those outside of it? I found an Excel file listing ~60 programs, but Im not sure if its comprehensive.
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I think most programs are participating in the SF match these days, but for the few that I know are not participating (N=2), I only know because I happen to read it on their websites while looking programs up. I figured once the SF match opens tomorrow, we’ll have a better idea.
 

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Anyone who has submitted their SFM application heard anything back yet?
 
Anyone know when programs typically send out interview invites? I have not heard back from the majority of the programs I applied to
 
neuroresident99 said:
Anyone know when programs typically send out interview invites? I have not heard back from the majority of the programs I applied to
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I do not know exactly as I’m in the same boat. However, I have heard back from 8 out of 28 so far with 6 being interview invites. The other 2 were just to confirm that they received my application. One of the latter said they would be sending out interview invites closer to the end of May after they review applications and hold interviews in August.
 
I have my first interview next week which is a 2 day interview. Anyone know what to expect besides regular interview questions?
 
DrStephenStrange said:
I have my first interview next week which is a 2 day interview. Anyone know what to expect besides regular interview questions?
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Most of my interviews a few years back were all very casual conversations. Most interviews started with the generic "tell me about yourself" which may then pivot to "why movement", "why here", and "what you want to do after fellowship". Then the interviews can go in any direction you or the interviewer steer toward, ranging from more fellowship related (research opportunities, fellowship structures, etc.) to casual topics like hobbies and what to do in the city.

Just about every interview was casual like this. Remember you will be interviewing them just as much they are interviewing you. This is even more so compared to residency, as fellowship applicants usually have their pick of programs given the less competitive nature of movement disorders.
 
Not sure if it’s still early at this point, or maybe it’s really late and I just got ignored by a lot of programs :shrug:.

I don’t know what it’s been like for you guys, but so far still only 7 interviews out of 28 programs I applied. 3 other programs have reached out just to confirm receipt of my application, and that they are in the process of reviewing prior to sending out interviews. In my mind coming into this process, I thought I would be canceling interviews by now. Especially to some of the safety programs I applied to.

On the other hand, I just completed my first interview today at the program I think might end up #1. I wish I had more practice before going into it, so I could deliver some of my answers more smoothly. However, it really wasn’t that bad honestly. Very conversational and ultimately you just have to be yourself and hope everything works out.
 
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Honestly, I’m in a very similar situation. I’ve had a few interviews so far but definitely fewer than I expected, especially from some of the places I thought were “safeties.” It’s hard not to overthink it, but I guess a lot of programs are just moving slower this year.

And I totally get what you mean about wanting more practice before that first interview! But it’s reassuring to hear that it went smoothly for you. Hopefully things will pick up soon🤞!!
 
I’m in the same boat. Have heard back from less programs than I expected but got 2 new interviews this week (which I was not expecting and had given up hope). It seems there might be a second wave of interview invites in the coming weeks 🙂
 
When I interviewed, some programs interview early (May), some programs interview much later (early August). At least half of my interviews was in July. Therefore, do not give up if you have not heard back yet. It's harder to coordinate interviews from a fellowship level than residency as smaller pool of attendings needing to be there at the same time.
 
Quick update: Finally got another invite yesterday. Now I’m sitting on 8 total interviews. Just completed my 2nd one today.
 
Stuck at 8/28, I think this might be it for me. I have already completed 3 interviews and I’m already tired of this. Feels like residency interviews all over again. Oh and I also have an in-person interview out of state 🙃.
 
Never mind just got a 9th come through just now. I guess it’s not too late lol.
 
It’s been a while since I came back here, I figured I’d post an update with the match coming up soon. Overall, I think I had a pretty good cycle for a non-competitive applicant. Ended up with 16 interviews and 1 formal rejection out of 29 programs I applied. I targeted all available 1 year clinical programs (except maybe a couple I excluded due to location). Hopefully I stay in my top 5 (preferably top 3) for the match (fingers crossed 🤞🏽).

Message for future applicants: It’s true what they say that movement disorders fellowship is not at all competitive despite the huge need that currently exists everywhere. I’m surprised for such a procedure heavy subspecialty, it has not attracted many more applicants over the years. Maybe with more research and as newer drugs or newer devices hit the market in the future, it will gain more traction. Your board scores and research experience is not going to matter a whole lot for now at least, but they might help for more popular programs (Columbia, UCincy, Mayo, UF, Cleveland clinic, etc). I’d say make sure you at least have some experience rotating in a movement clinic and have a clear reason why you want to go that route for fellowship (most asked question on the interview trail). At the end of the day though, I think anyone can match into a movement program somewhere, so it’s not going to be a matter of if you’re going to match, but really where you’re going to match. You’ll for sure have plenty of interviews, and you’re just going to have to decide what program is going to fit your needs the best. If academia and research is your goal, most programs now do 2 years with a research year included. However, if your goal is to be a community based clinical movement specialist like me, there are also still plenty of 1 year clinically oriented programs out there.

I will plan to post a complete list of programs in the match this year at a later date. I know it’s hard finding a complete list out there. For example, I didn’t know all the available 1 year programs out there until I had access to the SFMatch website.
 
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Update: Almost 3 weeks ago, I did end up matching into my #2 ranked program. Strong academic program in a nice and fun city for a year 😀. Very excited to start next summer!!!

Match report: 67 programs participating, 96 positions offered, 75 positions filled, 21 remaining positions. 79 participating applicants of which 4 did not match.
 
DrStephenStrange said:
It’s been a while since I came back here, I figured I’d post an update with the match coming up soon. Overall, I think I had a pretty good cycle for a non-competitive applicant. Ended up with 16 interviews and 1 formal rejection out of 29 programs I applied. I targeted all available 1 year clinical programs (except maybe a couple I excluded due to location). Hopefully I stay in my top 5 (preferably top 3) for the match (fingers crossed 🤞🏽).

Message for future applicants: It’s true what they say that movement disorders fellowship is not at all competitive despite the huge need that currently exists everywhere. I’m surprised for such a procedure heavy subspecialty, it has not attracted many more applicants over the years. Maybe with more research and as newer drugs or newer devices hit the market in the future, it will gain more traction. Your board scores and research experience is not going to matter a whole lot for now at least, but they might help for more popular programs (Columbia, UCincy, Mayo, UF, Cleveland clinic, etc). I’d say make sure you at least have some experience rotating in a movement clinic and have a clear reason why you want to go that route for fellowship (most asked question on the interview trail). At the end of the day though, I think anyone can match into a movement program somewhere, so it’s not going to be a matter of if you’re going to match, but really where you’re going to match. You’ll for sure have plenty of interviews, and you’re just going to have to decide what program is going to fit your needs the best. If academia and research is your goal, most programs now do 2 years with a research year included. However, if your goal is to be a community based clinical movement specialist like me, there are also still plenty of 1 year clinically oriented programs out there.

I will plan to post a complete list of programs in the match this year at a later date. I know it’s hard finding a complete list out there. For example, I didn’t know all the available 1 year programs out there until I had access to the SFMatch website.
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Movement is indeed a very good specialty, but one of the reasons why it is less competitive is that only some institutions offer visas. Because it is not ACGME accredited. The decision to offer a visa is solely dependent on the institution and about less than half of all the programs offer it. This is similar to neurocritical care, which also has become less competitive for the many reasons, but this is one of them.

Stroke for example is ACGME and hence visas are sponsored by ECFMG- making it a good choice for IMGs.
 
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