SOAP 2015

[IlDestriero]

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I too am very interested in what is going on with this SOAP stuff. These stats people are posting confuses the heck out of me and makes me realize how fortunate I am (even if some here think I was being a jerk before). I am almost, second career, started at one Carib school, transferred to another (top 3), 3- year gap between 2nd and 3rd year of school, 224 on both steps and applied WITHOUT CK or CS (got scores in December). I got 9 interviews, IM, FM, Med-Peds and anesthesiology (I applied to 6 specialties, 75 total programs). I only applied in 3 states to stay in my region and I matched. It makes me wonder why others didn't get ranked better. Was it the choice of specialty, the interview, board scores, or some other NRMP issue. As I also posted, programs aren't happy with the SOAP this year either. Good luck to everyone.

PS. Screw writing your legislators, they don't care about unemployed people with MDs. However, the lack of training programs needs to be brought to the public's attention. Write news organizations, post in social media, and while this is hot to all of us, stay on it until it makes national news of the REAL reason there is a physician shortage.

I think a legitimate question is if there is a need to have many training programs for non US schools. There already are many more residency slots than American grads. How many more do we really need? We certainly don't need to flood the market with anyone remotely qualified. I would oppose any more anesthesia training programs. CRNA programs are turning out far too many CRNAs and it is hurting their employment opportunities. Too many providers drives down income. We pay them below average and can because of competition for jobs and we are in a desirable location.
And of course more bodies doesn't fix physician shortages in rural, less desirable locations because the new grads don't want to work their either. They just increase competition for jobs in tight flooded markets.

 

[imgtointern]

I truly believe that the ACGME merger is the solution to the problem. There are countless unfilled DO slots each year...meanwhile the MD seats are completely filled. But do you think that the DO programs are going to take IMGs over DO's? Highly unlikely. I think that it is going to be a haven for AMGs who don't match NRMP. IMG is becoming an increasingly BAD investment, and if their students continue to struggle to fill at some point they will have to be shut down. IMG was a legitimate option for people going into medicine 5-10 years from now...not anymore.

The merger would be good. If DO programs don't take IMGs and only fill up with all the DOs, that might still leave empty spots in ACGME programs (that DOs would usually fill up) that IMGs can take up. I feel there is a backwards trend that might emerge soon. If more and more people stay unmatched every year with enormous debt and little support from their schools, they will not encourage the next generation to pursue medicine. It will again lead to physician gaps and foreign physicians being brought in like in the 60s and 70s. I feel most bad for the US graduates, where are they supposed to go? And then you have the spouse of a vet waiting tables! That is so unfair. After all their sacrifices no one is willing to give her a chance?

As for medical boards, I read this article http://www.newsweek.com/2015/03/27/ugly-civil-war-american-medicine-312662.html. Maybe there needs to be an uprising against the whole NRMP/ERAS/SOAP process.

 

[SLC]

I don't know where you're getting your statistics from. Average salary of all physicians in 2013 was $259,000 for males, and $199,000 for females ($189,000/$161,000 for primary care).



I'm not talking about Caribbean schools. Not all US IMG's come from Caribbean schools.

Assuming we match, we're all going to have the same ****ty $50k/year income for 3 years before the significant bump in income. Anyone who is deciding to go to university/medical school in the US today faces the decision of being dragged into a massive amount of debt. I can't even imagine being a part of the 5% who didn't match and now has the equivalent of a house mortgage to pay with no income. My debt is nowhere near that much and I can easily choose another medically related profession if I can't successfully find a residency and still pay off my debt without a problem.

Remember, the laws were written so that even if you bankrupt, the debt stays with you. These debts are the equivalent of financial suicide if you don't match.

It all comes down to what you're willing to risk. If you want a practically guaranteed shot at getting a job, but you have to spend the equivalent of a large house to do it before you can, by all means. People who can't afford to live with that kind of debt have the option of choosing being an IMG, where you have to work harder to be in the top 50%, but you will be better off financially if you do.

One last thing. When you began your undergraduate career and medical school the tuition was less than it is now, so people deciding today have a much more difficult decision than you did.

I hear what you are saying, but I just have the facts that say that US AMG's and DO's overall have a 90+% match rate. This week my Dean was very reassuring that if I finished SOAP unmatched that I could find any number of AOA positions that are still open (and the AOA has already had one round of scrambling after the AOA match last month).

But I need to stop talking about that, it's not what anybody here needs to hear right now. I really am pulling for you guys, the stress of SOAP'ing hasn't worn off yet because I'm so worried about all of you. Despite having recieved a spot yesterday, I still didn't sleep much at all again last night because I was still sick with worry for everyone!

 

[SLC]

Accepted my only SOAP offer! Thank god I even got one!!

Congratulations, what was it?

 

[WhyNotMedicine]

Like what? I ask because im a us img and didnt match this year....contemplating what to do next

I haven't matched either but here are a few professions off the top of my head: laboratory technician (when I did research I worked with a Neurosurgeon from China who worked as a lab tech here), medical writer, work with the Red Cross (a classmate of mine has done this), unlicensed healthcare provider (the health industry in America is booming, so they're always hiring), law consultant (i've done this a handful of times, a lawyer approaches you and asks you to give your opinion on specific healthcases).

I've also been given advice that it is a good idea to find ANY sort of work in a hospital that has a residency program you're interested in. As long as you spend time around the attendings and get to know them, networking will get you further than any school or board score.

 

[TheOcean]

I not sure where you guys are getting support from during this SOAP process...I see a lot of questions on there that would be answered by your school. Just want to let those who might need to SOAP again (hopefully none of us) that our school told us to not add those 10 programs until after the 2nd round on WEN. Because if you add 10 between first and second round you are essentially blindly adding because many could have already been taken by the end of the 2nd round. Essentially you are wasting them. You need to add them after the final list after the 2nd round. I saw many ppl rushing to add and I feel bad because I wasn't checking the posts then.

Another thing - go DOWNLOAD a copy of your ERAS application because they vanish. They don't stay on there forever, i forgot when they are gone but its soon. That way when you reapply you don't have to start from scratch.

Best of luck everyone. I been feeling so depressed. I can share my stats if that helps? AMG - step 1 233, step 2 227, CS passed all first attempts. Honors here and there. Ranking top 30-40% of my class. Research and extra-circular. No red flags. Never failed anything. Excellent LORs (was talked about many times). I did one 1 year of personal leave due to some family things back in CA I had to attend to. But no one mentioned it during my interviews.

I'm praying for you all today! Don't give up...theres always a research year or maybe you can do Doctors w/o borders for a year! That actually sounds kind of awesome....

 

[IlDestriero]

That's definitely not the case. If anything ACGME standards are getting increasingly stringent with absolute quantifiable requirements for board passage rate, procedural volumes throughout training (and not just at the end of training), milestones competencies, new site visit standards.

This is accurate. There is a shift to more quantifiable evaluations, competencies by training year, etc.
It is not clear how it will all pan out. The goal is to catch and correct problems earlier in residency and improve the quality of the training. The problem is that it will necessarily lead to probation periods, extending training 3,6 or 12 months for some, and maybe more terminations. Anesthesia now has a 2 part written board. My home program said no pass no job. Everyone passed part 1. Who knows what they will really do when the 1st one fails. Probably extend their training.

 

[j4pac]

That's definitely not the case. If anything ACGME standards are getting increasingly stringent with absolute quantifiable requirements for board passage rate, procedural volumes throughout training (and not just at the end of training), milestones competencies, new site visit standards.

That's not what I meant. I am only going off of what PDs have told me. They told me it is more taxing on PDs...but because everything is laid out it is really difficult for programs to fall under probation.

 

[IlDestriero]

Like what? I ask because im a us img and didnt match this year....contemplating what to do next

You could do an accelerated nursing program with the goal of being an NP or CRNA. We had a research assistant that didn't get into medical school and went into one of those nursing programs instead, he did well, spent a year and a half in an ICU and is a CRNA now.

 

[fancymylotus]

Stopping by to send more good luck wishes to everyone still waiting! 🙂

 

[jay78240]

any body soaped into a pathology program ???

 

[LiveLaugh2015]

Anyone soaped into an anesthesia program?

 

[docmama]

Docmama,

Any chance of returning to your old program? I'd ask again. It's really your best shot.

Good luck,
G

Believe it or not, they had four SOAP positions this year, and one available as of this morning. But they still haven't offered it to me, soooooooo.......

 

[PhotinoBird]

Maybe there needs to be an uprising against the whole NRMP/ERAS/SOAP process.

It may not seem that way but honestly, I think the matching process is about as fair as you can make it and is favored toward the applicant. The only thing I might advocate changing is forbidding any contact post interview between the applicant and the program.

 

[SOAP_city USA]

This is like stages of grief!!

I've already been in denial like most of Monday after I got my email up till I realized it was time to SOAP.
I've been angry thinking I should have geared my ROL better.
I've bargained saying I will do mad charity work as long as I get in somewhere.
I'm probably depressed NOW leaning towards acceptance.

 

[imgtointern]

It may not seem that way but honestly, I think the matching process is about as fair as you can make it and is favored toward the applicant. The only thing I might advocate changing is forbidding any contact post interview between the applicant and the program.

Yeah you are right, at least that was the basis of why the system was founded. Just looking for something else to blame at this late stage I guess.

 

[IlDestriero]

I've been angry thinking I should have geared my ROL better.
.

You realize this wouldn't have changed anything, right?
Unless you left some programs where you interviewed unranked.

 

[docmama]

Well, my old program filled this round. Six FM spots left. Should I even still be hopeful at this point? I didn't even bother to get up a six this morning to check. I figured If I had an offer it'd still be there at seven, when I usually get up. And sure enough, no offers. I'm calling my doc for an appointment and then calling in sick to work. My poor body can't handle this anymore. Flu/SOAP 3, Docmama 0.

 

[alisepeep]

You realize this wouldn't have changed anything, right?
Unless you left some programs where you interviewed unranked.

What do you mean it wouldnt change anything? I put super competitive places where i had a tiny chance on top and my bottom was the crappy other programs where mot people with my scores ranked super high because they knew they were a shoe in..its tis how i got left without a spot

 

[docmama]

What do you mean it wouldnt change anything? I put super competitive places where i had a tiny chance on top and my bottom was the crappy other programs where mot people with my scores ranked super high because they knew they were a shoe in..its tis how i got left without a spot

But that's not how the match algorithm works. As long as you didn't *treat* those lower-ranked programs like they were crappy, as long as you expressed sincere interest in going there, it wouldn't have mattered where you ranked them. Of course, there's only so much time for second looks and such, but really, don't beat yourself up about it. In the end, it's over, and we can't change the past. But as Rafiki says, we *can* learn from it 😉!

 

[DrBowtie]

What do you mean it wouldnt change anything? I put super competitive places where i had a tiny chance on top and my bottom was the crappy other programs where mot people with my scores ranked super high because they knew they were a shoe in..its tis how i got left without a spot

You don't know how the match algorithm works.

 

[Bravos]

What do you mean it wouldnt change anything? I put super competitive places where i had a tiny chance on top and my bottom was the crappy other programs where mot people with my scores ranked super high because they knew they were a shoe in..its tis how i got left without a spot

Not how it works, if you miss out on your #1 your #2 becomes #1 etc. The only thing your ROL could mess up is a possible chance at a better program if you ranked a worse one higher. That was the entire reason for the Match because before, people felt they had to accept early sure thing offers rather waiting where they preferred to go

 

[PhotinoBird]

What do you mean it wouldnt change anything? I put super competitive places where i had a tiny chance on top and my bottom was the crappy other programs where mot people with my scores ranked super high because they knew they were a shoe in..its tis how i got left without a spot

Those other people played it wrong, you played it right (in terms of ranking). You can youtube 'how match works'. You are not penalized for putting your 'reaches' higher.

 

[cheesecakings]

any body soaped into a pathology program ???

Me!! 🙂

 

[itom37]

Not how it works, if you miss out on your #1 your #2 becomes #1 etc. The only thing your ROL could mess up is a possible chance at a better program if you ranked a wrose one higher. That was the entire reason for the Match because it caused people to accept early sure thing offers rather waiting where they preferred to go

YEP! Long running myth is that you gain some advantage by playing games like putting a program you think you're more competitive with higher than what you really want. If you end up down at #15 on you ROL, and another student has that same program as their #1, then the only thing that matters is who is higher on the program's list. The other student gains NOTHING by having it as their first choice.

Only rank programs in the order you want them. Period. Ever.

 

[anothermedstudent]

I'm soaping as well, and still haven't received any offers. I've already accepted that I'll probably have to find something else outside of SOAP. To get ready for it, how can I send my LORs OR transcripts to programs as those would be in ERAS, can programs still access ERAS after SOAP?

 

[PMRMD2B]

I think a legitimate question is if there is a need to have many training programs for non US schools. There already are many more residency slots than American grads. How many more do we really need? We certainly don't need to flood the market with anyone remotely qualified. I would oppose any more anesthesia training programs. CRNA programs are turning out far too many CRNAs and it is hurting their employment opportunities. Too many providers drives down income. We pay them below average and can because of competition for jobs and we are in a desirable location.
And of course more bodies doesn't fix physician shortages in rural, less desirable locations because the new grads don't want to work their either. They just increase competition for jobs in tight flooded markets.

I think maybe you see residency positions as only there to serve US graduates, when it is in fact there to serve the citizens of our country. Maybe more doctors drive down salaries,.. but maybe it drives up quality, maybe it serves more people. Maybe you aren't aware of the fact that the baby boomer doctors are retiring and there aren't enough new physicians to replace them. This is the reason CRNA's, NP's, and PA's are on a fast rise, to fill in the need that doctors can't keep up with. You also have to realize that is why there are programs to motivates doctors to practice in rural and underserved areas. I can tell you that I personally would rather in a rural area than in most larger cities where doctors are working for peanuts at 4 different hospitals to make ends meet.

At the end of the day, one of the biggest problems we have in medicine is that 90% of doctors never had a real job and think what they do is so hard. For the first time in their lives they have to do something besides study and have some inflated sense that they should get paid $150 for writing an antibiotic's name on a script pad.

One thing I think we can all agree on is, this match system is NOT the best way to place physicians into training programs and something needs to be done about it.

 

[SLC]

What types of programs are left at the last updated list?
It sounds like FM is essentially gone, I'm sure there are surgery prelim spots but what else?

 

[PMRMD2B]

YEP! Long running myth is that you gain some advantage by playing games like putting a program you think you're more competitive with higher than what you really want. If you end up down at #15 on you ROL, and another student has that same program as their #1, then the only thing that matters is who is higher on the program's list. The other student gains NOTHING by having it as their first choice.

Only rank programs in the order you want them. Period. Ever.

I agree. I can only assume that programs just didn't rank many of the people who didn't match. My question would be why didn't they get ranked by programs.

 

[DrBowtie]

I think maybe you see residency positions as only there to serve US graduates, when it is in fact there to serve the citizens of our country. Maybe more doctors drive down salaries,.. but maybe it drives up quality, maybe it serves more people. Maybe you aren't aware of the fact that the baby boomer doctors are retiring and there aren't enough new physicians to replace them. This is the reason CRNA's, NP's, and PA's are on a fast rise, to fill in the need that doctors can't keep up with. You also have to realize that is why there are programs to motivates doctors to practice in rural and underserved areas. I can tell you that I personally would rather in a rural area than in most larger cities where doctors are working for peanuts at 4 different hospitals to make ends meet.

At the end of the day, one of the biggest problems we have in medicine is that 90% of doctors never had a real job and think what they do is so hard. For the first time in their lives they have to do something besides study and have some inflated sense that they should get paid $150 for writing an antibiotic's name on a script pad.

One thing I think we can all agree on is, this match system is NOT the best way to place physicians into training programs and something needs to be done about it.

I think a lot of people do think the match system is the best way.

 

[docmama]

I have been saying for years that FMGs, if they have been practicing in their specialty for at least five years, should NOT have to redo residency from scratch to become licensed to practice in the US. The law needs to change such that they need to pass all three USMLE steps, then apprentice under a US attending for 2-4 years (or more, depending on specialty). It is insulting to them to put seasoned docs in US intern classes, and not fair to US graduates who have been paying into Medicare (or their parents have) and still don't have spots. I realize it wouldn't completely solve the problem, but it would alleviate it a little.

 

[Maine coon]

Yikes, tough situation (stress inducing tough, that is)

I would assume that, given your AMG status (right?), making a round of calls with the explanation that you already have an advanced position waiting would be quite productive.

Get your Dean and faculty involved as well. I think chances are quite high this can work out well for you!

Yea, AMG, not a great applicant (CK on 2nd attempt) as I somehow did not match into doing primary care in NYC. My home program does not have anything left by now being in NYC.
I will keep praying and I will make calls. Keeping my hopes up.

 

[PMRMD2B]

I think a lot of people do think the match system is the best way.

I'll bet many on this board don't.

Name ANY other profession that goes through a process like this. We are some of the most educated individuals, yet can't negotiate and have very little choice in where we get a job.

 

[soap20-15]

Been reading this message board since Monday when my world was literally turned on its head. No real purpose of this post other then to show my sympathy to others going through the same thing and to get some of this off my chest. I honestly have never felt this low in my life, its has been a surreal experience and I really have no idea what my next step is. I have been reading these forums religiously and it has helped a little to know I am not alone in this process. I may be a little dramatic, but I can't even face friends and family right now, I feel like a fraud. I waiver between dissociation, shock and anger, dissociated from what I knew to be real, I was supposed to be a doctor, my life was planned around it, everyone who knew me knew me as a doctor. Part of my confidence stemmed from this goal of being a doctor and when I thought of the future I saw myself as a doctor. Then there is the anger of having my entire life, sense of self and ego affected to such a degree by an email with all of 5 words, "sorry, you did not match". Also the anger of changing my opinion of this whole medical process, where now one of the main motivators to continue to pursue a residency is strictly monetary, to pay back loans, not to help and change the world which I naively had in my heart before this week. I'm sorry to rant and I know a lot of you are going through the same things, I just needed to say something, maybe for a cathartic release, although I still feel pretty numb. One thing I know for sure is that my life will never be the same, and perhaps that's what God has intended through all this

 

[PMRMD2B]

I have been saying for years that FMGs, if they have been practicing in their specialty for at least five years, should NOT have to redo residency from scratch to become licensed to practice in the US. The law needs to change such that they need to pass all three USMLE steps, then apprentice under a US attending for 2-4 years (or more, depending on specialty). It is insulting to them to put seasoned docs in US intern classes, and not fair to US graduates who have been paying into Medicare (or their parents have) and still don't have spots. I realize it wouldn't completely solve the problem, but it would alleviate it a little.

I can't tell you how many FMG's I worked with in IM that were neurosurgeons, OB's, plastic surgeons, cardiologists, dermatologists, chief of medicine at their hospital, etc in their home countries and come here and are treated like the dirt on the bottom of someone's shoes. Many of them never have the chance to use their full potential because they'll never match into that specialty here, yet are way more deserving than most of us. Many of them don't even speak English when they come here and overcome 1000 times what any US citizens have to go through, only to go unmatched or have to settle for a field they don't really want here. It is sad.

 

[jay78240]

Me!! 🙂

congrats , was his your preferred specialty if you dont mind me asking ??

 

[cheesecakings]

Congratulations, what was it?

Path. It was a long shot but they had encouraged me to apply through SOAP after I got the interview rejection during match season.

 

[docmama]

Been reading this message board since Monday when my world was literally turned on its head. No real purpose of this post other then to show my sympathy to others going through the same thing and to get some of this off my chest. I honestly have never felt this low in my life, its has been a surreal experience and I really have no idea what my next step is. I have been reading these forums religiously and it has helped a little to know I am not alone in this process. I may be a little dramatic, but I can't even face friends and family right now, I feel like a fraud. I waiver between dissociation, shock and anger, dissociated from what I knew to be real, I was supposed to be a doctor, my life was planned around it, everyone who knew me knew me as a doctor. Part of my confidence stemmed from this goal of being a doctor and when I thought of the future I saw myself as a doctor. Then there is the anger of having my entire life, sense of self and ego affected to such a degree by an email with all of 5 words, "sorry, you did not match". Also the anger of changing my opinion of this whole medical process, where now one of the main motivators to continue to pursue a residency is strictly monetary, to pay back loans, not to help and change the world which I naively had in my heart before this week. I'm sorry to rant and I know a lot of you are going through the same things, I just needed to say something, maybe for a cathartic release, although I still feel pretty numb. One thing I know for sure is that my life will never be the same, and perhaps that's what God has intended through all this

I know EXACTLY how you feel. One of the reasons I haven't given up entirely is because I know how disappointed my dad would be. I mean seriously, he just wants me to be happy. Would he really be all that disappointed? Doubtful. But I remember how he and my mom just beamed with pride on my graduation day. I think of how proudly my daughter tells other people, "my mommy's a doctor." And I just can't let them down. It's not dramatic. It's not unusual to feel this way. There's nothing wrong with you, you are not "defective" in any way. You mention fraud. Boy do I know that feeling! It's like I've just managed to fake it and slip through the cracks until now. And now everyone knows I was never "worthy" to be a doctor in the first place. Chin up. You mentioned God. He is very much aware of your situation and He loves you VERY much. He has a plan for you. Have faith in that. Having faith in Him means having faith in His timing. Everything will fall into place and when it all clicks you will have this epiphone -- "so THAT'S why I had to go through all that!" You will have far more empathy and patience and kindness now for having gone through this. I think it definitely makes us better docs. Blessings to you and yours.

 

[IlDestriero]

One thing I think we can all agree on is, this match system is NOT the best way to place physicians into training programs and something needs to be done about it.

I would disagree with that. The match works for the majority of applicants. If an IMG, low score, bottom 10%, red flag applicant, etc. applied to all the programs separately, they would still face the same poor odds against candidates without those barriers.
As noted above, before the match, it was a disaster and prone to abuse and cronyism.
The match benefits both the applicants and the programs. We started a match in Pediatric Anesthesiology a few years ago. It changed everything. I'm glad I didn't have to do it, but things are actually better now. We have to interview more candidates, and we still hold back a few spots for superstar residents outside of the match, but the people we get seem to be, in the aggregate, better fellows. We always accepted the majority of the fellows from the same handful of known 5 star programs and didn't even offer interviews to the vast majority of the applicants. They usually accepted the offer and we were done. Now we have to interview about 60 people, still less than 1/2 of the applicants, but we have been getting great fellows from programs that never would have been granted an interview a few years ago.

 

[nimmikhan2014]

Been reading this message board since Monday when my world was literally turned on its head. No real purpose of this post other then to show my sympathy to others going through the same thing and to get some of this off my chest. I honestly have never felt this low in my life, its has been a surreal experience and I really have no idea what my next step is. I have been reading these forums religiously and it has helped a little to know I am not alone in this process. I may be a little dramatic, but I can't even face friends and family right now, I feel like a fraud. I waiver between dissociation, shock and anger, dissociated from what I knew to be real, I was supposed to be a doctor, my life was planned around it, everyone who knew me knew me as a doctor. Part of my confidence stemmed from this goal of being a doctor and when I thought of the future I saw myself as a doctor. Then there is the anger of having my entire life, sense of self and ego affected to such a degree by an email with all of 5 words, "sorry, you did not match". Also the anger of changing my opinion of this whole medical process, where now one of the main motivators to continue to pursue a residency is strictly monetary, to pay back loans, not to help and change the world which I naively had in my heart before this week. I'm sorry to rant and I know a lot of you are going through the same things, I just needed to say something, maybe for a cathartic release, although I still feel pretty numb. One thing I know for sure is that my life will never be the same, and perhaps that's what God has intended through all this

Timing is everything. You will achieve greatness in a way you never imagined, and then you will look back and realize that your stress, your struggle, your shaken hope -- they guided you to a better place -- but only if you allow yourself to be rebuilt, and rebuilt stronger. You know you are intelligent, that you've valued your intellect, and just because you received those five unfortunate words this time around, doesn't put a seal of expiration on your life and your purpose. Feel sadness and be alone in this moment, but now that this moment ends as soon as it starts, if you so choose. Let this moment be the saddest you will be and don't look back. You were born without labels and you were born true. Not having an "MD" after your name does not make you a fraud. You are and will be great.

 

[SOAP_city USA]

The tally right now is the following:

FM <15 w/ like a third being out of SOAP
Cat IM <10 w/ half being out of SOAP
Prelim IM <20 w/ a third being out of SOAP
Prelim Surg <55 w/ half being out of SOAP

 

[Keona]

offers are being generated

 

[docmama]

Perhaps a solution would be some kind of federal loan forgiveness program for students/former graduates who go unmatched/unSOAPed after three years' attempts, say a reduction in repayment by 75%? I know the law currently states that if a school can sign off on a former graduate having a disability (or some other reason) that prevents them from working in the field for which they earned their degree, all debt can be forgiven, but I'm sure that's VERY difficult to get approved (and most likely, any kind of career suicide).

 

[Keona]

No offers, I feel like I am just torturing myself at this point

 

[saudades]

Been reading this message board since Monday when my world was literally turned on its head. No real purpose of this post other then to show my sympathy to others going through the same thing and to get some of this off my chest. I honestly have never felt this low in my life, its has been a surreal experience and I really have no idea what my next step is. I have been reading these forums religiously and it has helped a little to know I am not alone in this process. I may be a little dramatic, but I can't even face friends and family right now, I feel like a fraud. I waiver between dissociation, shock and anger, dissociated from what I knew to be real, I was supposed to be a doctor, my life was planned around it, everyone who knew me knew me as a doctor. Part of my confidence stemmed from this goal of being a doctor and when I thought of the future I saw myself as a doctor. Then there is the anger of having my entire life, sense of self and ego affected to such a degree by an email with all of 5 words, "sorry, you did not match". Also the anger of changing my opinion of this whole medical process, where now one of the main motivators to continue to pursue a residency is strictly monetary, to pay back loans, not to help and change the world which I naively had in my heart before this week. I'm sorry to rant and I know a lot of you are going through the same things, I just needed to say something, maybe for a cathartic release, although I still feel pretty numb. One thing I know for sure is that my life will never be the same, and perhaps that's what God has intended through all this

I know exactly how you feel. I know I shouldn't feel ashamed but I do...but I have to remember that all is not lost. It's so hard to be optimistic right now, but we don't know what the future holds. Good luck and God bless.

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." -Thomas Edison

 

[SLC]

Path. It was a long shot but they had encouraged me to apply through SOAP after I got the interview rejection during match season.

Wow, congratulations. When I was having my crisis moment on Monday, I breifly wondered if perhaps I just wasn't supposed to be in the field I applied to somehow. I wondered if Pathology would be a good fallback, it's a cool field and you see and do some really awesome things! One of our professors is the Cheif ME for The county (5million or so population, so it's a busy department). We all got to go and watch autopsies a few times and it was very cool. If you get into that it's an intriguing blend of science, detective work, and law.

Decomposition cases, while tough to stomach at times, were particularly interesting IMO.

 

[j4pac]

Perhaps a solution would be some kind of federal loan forgiveness program for students/former graduates who go unmatched/unSOAPed after three years' attempts, say a reduction in repayment by 75%? I know the law currently states that if a school can sign off on a former graduate having a disability (or some other reason) that prevents them from working in the field for which they earned their degree, all debt can be forgiven, but I'm sure that's VERY difficult to get approved (and most likely, any kind of career suicide).

When it comes down to asking for MORE money...it's unlikely to happen. I think that the more realistic scenario is that the ACGME merger helps to a certain extent...and there will eventually be fewer applicants as more will avoid going to the Caribbean for training out of a legitimate fear of going unmatched. Reduce the applicant pool...and that solves the problem.

 

[fat1iscool]

no offers

 

[fancymylotus]

So.
What's the procedure if no offers today? It turns into a phone call/fax free for all starting tomorrow at 5?

 

[IlDestriero]

All you can do is figure out what your weaknesses or problems with this years match were and soldier on.
I would recommend talking to your desired programs head of research at your school and trying to arrange a research year.
Fix what you can fix, apply smarter if that was a problem, and work on strengthening your application for next year.
And of course don't give up on looking for an out of match spot. Things open up, and if they don't know you're available, they're not going to call you.