Other Responses wanted: Did you SOAP or not match?

[idontwantnoscrubs]

Hello! I am a graduating 4th year medical student and writing an article about students that don't match to a residency positions. I respect that this is a sensitive subject that impacts each individual's careers and take care to keep information anonymous unless you would prefer it to be shared in the final article.

Please answer the following as you experienced it:

• What was your specialty for match?
• If you matched through SOAP, where did you match?
• If you did not match, what are your plans ahead?
• What were your thoughts when you learned of your match result?
• How did SOAP work for you?
• Do you have any other thoughts or comments to share?

For those that reply and have content included in the final article draft, I will send you a copy directly before publishing. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thank you!

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[ordersol7]

I did not match last year but matched this year. I was unsuccessful in picking up a position in the SOAP after applying for the remaining IM and prelim IM and some family med positions. My school offered to let me extend my graduation to maintain US senior status so I could reapply to a less competitive specialty (IM). I matched this year to a university affiliated IM program that was in the middle of my rank list. The entire experience was incredibly humiliating and draining and left me very disillusioned with my medical school admin and advisors since all any of them had to say was that they were confused why I was unmatched at the end of SOAP as a US student without major red flags and didn't seem to know what to say to me as far as practical advice. You can PM me if you'd like more details.

 

[Member 031786]

I have attempted to match in IM/FM 3 times and have yet to succeed. I failed 3 classes one semester at Ross University, it was the first time in my life that I ever failed any courses. I had a bad semester for personal reasons and everything came crashing down. I was in good standing with the Ross and my grades were average. They refused to let me repeat that semester and I was dismissed from the university. I tried to appeal and they refused. I completed my final semester at AUA and passed step 1 (205), step2ck(210) on my first attempt and I got straight A's in all of my clinical rotations. I passed step 2 CS on my second attempt. I have strong recommendations from my attendings and anyone I work with has trouble understanding why I still have no job. Even with step 3 passed (198) I struggle to get more than a couple interviews. The system is much too saturated for someone like me, and I will have to chalk it up as a loss.

It feels awful to give on my dream of working as a physician, but I have no other options left. I can not afford to volunteer anymore as I must pay my loans off. Paying for observerships are completely out of the question. I can not take a $2000 gamble on PERHAPS getting an interview and PERHAPS getting ranked.

I'm currently trying to find an entry level position as a clinical systems analyst while working as a medical scribe during the day and driving for UBER at night. I have a love of software that I always wanted to somehow integrate into my medical education. It was my original goal to apply to an informatics fellowship after IM residency. Perhaps I can forgo residency and still work in healthcare IT.

Feel free to PM me with any other questions.