Signing an FP contract outside the match

[Mike59]

Hey all,

I'm currently studying north of the border and was wondering what would happen if I tried to secure a US residency position in family medicine outside of the match (say in April/May)? I have noticed that many programs in desirable cities (except in Cali) go unfilled each year even after the scramble. Do these programs jump at the opporunity to "sign" someone like me after the dust settles?

I would only exercise this option if I go unmatched up here. I would rather not apply through ERAS and waste time/money on interviews/applications that I may not even need if I match here. But, if this option becomes necessary, can one scramble without having applied through ERAS?

Immigration-wise, I have rights in the US and therefore wouldn't need a visa or anything, and my USMLE I and II would be complete as of February.

Does this happen often, and would a program that has several open spots be willing to make such an arrangement?

Thanks so much for any answers

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[PACtoDOC]

Hey all,

I'm currently studying north of the border and was wondering what would happen if I tried to secure a US residency position in family medicine outside of the match (say in April/May)? I have noticed that many programs in desirable cities (except in Cali) go unfilled each year even after the scramble. Do these programs jump at the opporunity to "sign" someone like me after the dust settles?

I would only exercise this option if I go unmatched up here. I would rather not apply through ERAS and waste time/money on interviews/applications that I may not even need if I match here. But, if this option becomes necessary, can one scramble without having applied through ERAS?

Immigration-wise, I have rights in the US and therefore wouldn't need a visa or anything, and my USMLE I and II would be complete as of February.

Does this happen often, and would a program that has several open spots be willing to make such an arrangement?

Thanks so much for any answers

You should not have any problem. Probably 30% of all programs are unmatched into eternity, so April/May is nothing extrordinarily late.

 

[BellKicker]

PACtoDOC, I think 30% is way too high. There may be a few programs with open spots going into May or June but only because they are too picky with their applicants. I have never personally seen a program with an open spot. Hell, think of all the money they would lose by not signing anyone.

I will agree with PACtoDOC, though, that you would have no problem finding a spot (being Canadian and with a visa). Out of curiosity, why not just apply now? You could easily prematch if you explained to programs that you are not eligble for the match (because you haven't cleared the steps or whatever other reason).

Good Luck.

 

[NuMD97]

(1) Unmatched FP positions run about 25%. Check the statistics at www.scutwork.com. They have the numbers for the past three Matches.

(2) If USMLE Parts 1 and 2 are completed by February, the Match becomes moot for you for this year. Most places would not interview you without AT LEAST one score with the other pending. CSA done too? Scramble. They won't take you automatically, but you have a pretty decent shot for this year for the time period you are talking about. Do your research first and be ready with dialing finger and fax machine. It's going to be a very long day. Consider tanking your car and going some places in person. It's worked before, especially when the phone and fax lines are jammed.

Good luck!

Nu

 

[cooldreams]

ventura, cox, christi - what kind of usmle/comlex scores do unopposed fp residency places like these look for in DO students??

also, i really want to land an unopposed fp that is a nice atmosphere, with lots of procedures. I want to see everything type scenerio... any ideas?

 

[PACtoDOC]

ventura, cox, christi - what kind of usmle/comlex scores do unopposed fp residency places like these look for in DO students??

also, i really want to land an unopposed fp that is a nice atmosphere, with lots of procedures. I want to see everything type scenerio... any ideas?

This is a complete guess, but places like Ventura where sun is abundant, the county hospital is tops, and the residents are all above average (with few DO's), I would guess that you would need to average above the pool of MD applicants by a few points to get noticed, or have strong FP letters and FP political involvement. And my guess is that MD applicants at programs like this probably average 215-220. I had a 232 and talked many times with Ventura, and I am a DO student. They were extremely kind and contacted me regularly to keep me interested. Ventura fell out of favor for me though because I just could not stomach southern Cali, and would prefer a dually accredited program. I loved Salinas and Martinez' programs (Natividad and Contra Costa respectively), but they too have no dual accreditation. And I most certainly will want to come back and teach at a program one day, and as a DO, I feel that I will be marketable to the hilt with both AMA/AOA board certifications. SO I have completely ruled out any non-dual program, which has narrowed my list considerably but left many top teir programs in my humble opinion.

Check out Washington, Pennsylvania, Waukesha, Wi (MCW), Lacrosse Wi (Mayo), Spartanburg, SC, JPS in Fort Worth, Tx, Waco, Tx, Swedish in Washington State, and Greeley in Colorado.

See you on the trail sooner than later!!

We should start a thread for all SDNers who will be interested in FP to say dates and places we are going to interview so we can discretely put a little cryptic blue dot in the corner or our nametag so we can recognize each other

Hopefully FP will be more competitive this year and put lots of good residents in my class!!

 

[cooldreams]

hehe hey thats actually a pretty cool idea.

are all those places you mentioned unopposed or is that something you are not interested in?

thx for the nfo!

 

[PACtoDOC]

hehe hey thats actually a pretty cool idea.

are all those places you mentioned unopposed or is that something you are not interested in?

thx for the nfo!

They are all unopposed except for Swedish which I am unsure about. I personally would not choose to go to an academic FP program with one exception perhaps, and that is Boston University. But cost of living is crazy there too and so I won't be applying to it. Unopposed can be either a wonderful place to learn or a terrible place to learn, all depending on whether the specialists there like to teach.

A good unopposed program is often one where the hospital was built around family physicians and where they tend to still run things from the top down. Often the CEO and Chief of Staff are FP's. And the specialists are often hired by the FP's and are only brought on if they intend to be excellent teachers. And usually specialty departments like OB and Surgery will even have credentialled FP's on those staff rosters. One place I was looking at in California had an FP as chief of the OB department. But unopposed programs can be really bad as well when teaching falls to the wayside because the residents are too busy. Census' should not be as high as academic programs on most services so teaching and learning time is more available.

I don't know about you guys, but I am ready for applications and ready to interview!! But I won't lie, there are a few programs that I might seriously accept signing a contract outside of the match as early as November or so if they offer it during my visiting rotation. If I can lock in my top choice before Christmas, I can get my house sold and avoid the match altogether. There are advantages to being a DO, although I don't agree with this advantage (but as long as it exists I may as well use it!!)

 

[bmickelsen]

Many of the FP programs in the Rocky Mountain region have great unoposed residencies in great locations. Two that have lots of OB and procedures are Idaho State University in Pocatello Idaho, and the Spokane Washington program. There are also strong unopposed programs in wyoming and montana.
Good luck all you soon to be 4th years.

 

[Clue]

There are many unfilled FM spots in Canada. Plus it is only 2 years instead of 3 (How they can learn all that material well in 2 years is beyond me).