Too late to be PGY1 this July?

[Southernplayalisticadillacmusic]

I am a fourth year med student planning on doing a year of research before residency, but I am now wondering if I could fill one of the vacant residency slots once match day has come and gone. I haven't gone on any interviews, nor have I submitted a ROL. I was looking at the resident vacancies on scutwork.com and wondering what happens when a program does not fill on match day. Does anyone know?

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[Magree]

Hi:

Programs that don't fill in the match will scramble to fill. As a U.S. medical student you are required to go through the match but I think you could go through the scramble - you would need to register for the match so that you could get a copy of the unfilled programs (or find someone from your school who can give you a copy it) and then get your dean's office to help you get your papers together - i.e. personal statement, LOR, USMLE scores, dean's letter, etc. Good luck!

Cheers,

M-

 

[carddr]

Yeh...Join Match and on March 19th at 11:30a.m.EST, the NRMP web site will release the Filled and Unfilled results for individual programs and at 12noonEST they will release the locations of all the filled and unfillled positions to all applicants and programs. If you don't match you may begin contacting unfilled programs. Most will require a CV, Board scores the usual, its best to contact the PD and find out, just have your stuff all ready on that day. Good Luck.

 

[NuMD97]

I would like to add that you should be near a fax machine and a free phone line, because everyone and his brother and cousin will be doing the same during the Scramble. Good luck to all.

 

[Southernplayalisticadillacmusic]

Thank you all for the good info!! And wish me luck for the scramble.

One more question . . . what about the positions that are STILL unfilled after the scramble. What becomes of them? Are they still available to be filled post scramble day?

 

[Winged Scapula]

It is not clear to what date you can register for the match. I would think ROL deadline would be the last date for which you can register (ie, Feb 21, 2002).

However, hopefully someone will supply you with a list of unfilled programs and you can get the information you need there rather than paying NRMP for the list (which will be at least the base price + $50 for registering late).

Most programs which have unfilled spots which they desire to fill (ie, aren't saved for someone else, or not being filled) will continue to fill those after the first few days of the scramble. Your chances of obtaining a spot dwindle as days post-scramble drag on, but if spots are still open, you are still eligible for them.

Best of luck. BTW, none of my business, but it would seem to be more prudent to wait out a year, doing research or whatever, than take your chances at scrambling into a program you know nothing about (not having been to the place, met the residents, faculty, etc.). Most of these scramble matches are made over the phone; you usually aren't given days to come for a visit, etc. Obviously if you HAVE to scramble then you have no choice, but without having gone on the interview trail, you have no comparison to make, no experience in looking at residency programs, etc.

 

[Goofy]

Atlien,

Without knowing what specialty you are interested in, it is impossible to offer you a cogent answer. If you are vying for a competitive slot like derm, by all means wait the year out. For something like medicine, you can probably still negotiate a decent slot without necessarily scrambling, but your gonna have to rush in a big way! Let us know what you are interested in quick and I might be able to offer you some useful advice.