PM&R with Family Medicine Backup

[yungk19]

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Hey guys,

I'm one of the few applicants who applied/ranked PM&R programs and also ranked family medicine programs as backup, in case I was not able to secure a PM&R residency during the match. This past Monday, I was notified that I was "fully matched", which meant 2 things: either I was fully matched into both a TY & advanced PM&R program OR that I had matched solely into one of my backup family medicine programs.

I ranked the following 5 PM&R programs from 1st to 5th: 1) UCLA/VAGLAHS 2) Stanford 3) UC Irvine 4) NYU 5) Rush

This was followed by 11 FM programs (all in CA): 6) UCI 7) Glendale Adventist 8) Memorial Long Beach & etc.

Anyone in the same position as I am, not knowing if they matched into PM&R fully or FM?

 

[Taliesinrk]

I am not, but am curious as to the words you used. You said (and put quotation marks around) "fully matched". Those weren't the actually the words in the email, were they? Mine just said "you have matched".

 

[supraman23]

I am not, but am curious as to the words you used. You said (and put quotation marks around) "fully matched". Those weren't the actually the words in the email, were they? Mine just said "you have matched".

You are correct, it said "Congratulations! You have matched!." But this could mean either of the scenarios the OP listed. In any case, I applied PM&R and IM as a plan B. I ranked 1-11 PM&R and #12 IM then a few more PM&R. Waiting til Friday to know what specialty and where... heres to hoping its PM&R (fingers crossed)

 

[Tromner]

Hey guys,

I'm one of the few applicants who applied/ranked PM&R programs and also ranked family medicine programs as backup, in case I was not able to secure a PM&R residency during the match. This past Monday, I was notified that I was "fully matched", which meant 2 things: either I was fully matched into both a TY & advanced PM&R program OR that I had matched solely into one of my backup family medicine programs.

I ranked the following 5 PM&R programs from 1st to 5th: 1) UCLA/VAGLAHS 2) Stanford 3) UC Irvine 4) NYU 5) Rush

This was followed by 11 FM programs (all in CA): 6) UCI 7) Glendale Adventist 8) Memorial Long Beach & etc.

Anyone in the same position as I am, not knowing if they matched into PM&R fully or FM?

I know my letter said I had matched to an advanced spot but not a prelim spot (I'm doing a DO internship). Another student implied that he knew that he matched to a 4 year program based on the letter. I'm thinking that if you have matched into two programs (TY & PMR) it would have told you, but I don't know for sure.



Also out of curiosity, were you limited in the number of PMR rankings because you wanted to stay in CA? Otherwise, I probably would have ranked 11 PMR and 5 FM back ups, instead of the other way around.

 

[Eilat87]

I know my letter said I had matched to an advanced spot but not a prelim spot (I'm doing a DO internship). Another student implied that he knew that he matched to a 4 year program based on the letter. I'm thinking that if you have matched into two programs (TY & PMR) it would have told you, but I don't know for sure.



Also out of curiosity, were you limited in the number of PMR rankings because you wanted to stay in CA? Otherwise, I probably would have ranked 11 PMR and 5 FM back ups, instead of the other way around.

Yeah.. that is strange. If PM&R is your first choice, why only rank five programs?

 

[RangerBob]

I know my letter said I had matched to an advanced spot but not a prelim spot (I'm doing a DO internship). Another student implied that he knew that he matched to a 4 year program based on the letter. I'm thinking that if you have matched into two programs (TY & PMR) it would have told you, but I don't know for sure.

It tells you the same thing regardless of whether you matched into a 4yr categorical program or a 1yr prelim + 3yr advanced. You only see something different if you failed to match prelim or advanced, or didn't match at all. The NRMP help file explains this--I read it because I wanted to know if I'd be able to figure out if I matched into a 4 or 3 yr PM&R program, but unfortunately you'll see the same thing (assuming you also matched prelim for an advanced program).

 

[RangerBob]

Yeah.. that is strange. If PM&R is your first choice, why only rank five programs?

Also agree with this... CA is notoriously competitive. I don't know about NYU, but Rush also matches really well. I spoke with one of the residents at a consulting job I was doing (the residents have a lot of input there by the way), and they only rank ~60-75% of those they interview. I forgot the exact number, but it was a really surprising percentage--I always figured most programs rank almost all the people they interview. He also told me they generally match within their top 20 or better.

Best of luck to the OP--I hope you match PM&R.

 

[yungk19]

Yeah.. that is strange. If PM&R is your first choice, why only rank five programs?

Sadly, I could only rank 5 programs because I was offered PM&R interviews ONLY at those places 🙁 In retrospect, I should not have limited myself in applying for PM&R only in Chicago and NY but instead castes my net wider to apply to more programs.

Rangerbob, your news about Rush really surprises me, and although I also know that California programs are notoriously difficult I figured that doing audition rotations at these 3 programs (UCLA/VAGLAHS, Stanford, UCI) would give me a decent enough chance. But at this point, I've already figure that I most likely matched into my FM backup. Oh well, it's a consequence that I'll have to live with for the rest of my life...

 

[RangerBob]

Sadly, I could only rank 5 programs because I was offered PM&R interviews ONLY at those places 🙁 In retrospect, I should not have limited myself in applying for PM&R only in Chicago and NY but instead castes my net wider to apply to more programs.

Rangerbob, your news about Rush really surprises me, and although I also know that California programs are notoriously difficult I figured that doing audition rotations at these 3 programs (UCLA/VAGLAHS, Stanford, UCI) would give me a decent enough chance. But at this point, I've already figure that I most likely matched into my FM backup. Oh well, it's a consequence that I'll have to live with for the rest of my life...

Well, if you did three audition rotations that certainly changes things and helps a lot 🙂 . Those CA programs all really like people who rotated though them, so I wouldn't give up hope yet. Rotating at any of the CA programs really helps a lot, and while I did say Rush was more competitive than I'd expect, you were still offered an interview. If you interview well, I'd actually say you have really good odds at matching somewhere.

My friend applied to neurosurgery where it's generally recommend you rank 14 programs to match (vs 8 for PM&R). She had 7 interviews, and ranked only those (no back-ups). She found out she matched yesterday. So there's always hope 🙂

I wish you the best of luck, and let us know where you end up! I ranked UCLA and Stanford highly so we may be future co-residents.

 

[Tromner]

I don't have the stats in front of me but they say basically that people that ranked if you rank ~10 match about 90-95% of the time. People that rank 1 program match about 50% of the time. So ranking 5 you're probably at about 80% chance, but that doesn't matter anymore. You've already matched so there's nothing to do but wait and see.
Goodluck

 

[RangerBob]

I don't have the stats in front of me but they say basically that people that ranked if you rank ~10 match about 90-95% of the time. People that rank 1 program match about 50% of the time. So ranking 5 you're probably at about 80% chance, but that doesn't matter anymore. You've already matched so there's nothing to do but wait and see.
Goodluck

I think you're thinking about "Charting Outcomes in the Match, 2011." It should come up with a google search. According to it, for a US senior, your probability of matching is:

5 ranks: 85%
6 ranks: 89/90%
9 ranks: 95%
After that it starts approaching 100%