Why do we have to wait for 3 weeks to get match results?

[Noegrus]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I know the official explanation from NRMP. It goes like, "Blah blah blah, blah blah checking results blah. Blah blah making sure the urology debacle doesn't happen here. Blah blah".
However, I am looking for more creative responses.
So, why do we have to wait three weeks from the submission of rank lists to announcement of the match results? Everything is digitized - the algorithm should take about 2 milliseconds to run.

Explanation 1: The statistician in Guangdong Province, China, to whom the responsible NRMP staffer outsources the matching process every year always has other projects queued up that he needs to take care of first. He may be able to do it quicker but either goat counts in Inner Mongolia or your match results can go wrong if he hurries this stuff. So, prease wait.

 

[Stellar Clouds]

Explanation 2: To maximize the number of first psychotic breaks amongst 4th year medical students.

 

[PonyUp]

They run the algorithm several times to ensure the same result every time.

They pull random samples to reality-check the results [one of the other threads from a couple years ago cited the couples' match as the reason for this].

Then with the other 20 days...who knows!

 

[ReactiveAirway]

Explanation 3: There really isn't a match algorithm. The whole process is actually very similar to the MLB's pre-season trades. It just takes three weeks to get all the scouting reports in, let the clubs negotiate, and finalize the transactions. May 15th is actually the trade deadline.

 

[Philosiraptor]

Thats how long it takes for them to count, re-count, and then carry all of our money to the NRMP bank vault.

 

[chessknt]

The match algorithm is so complicated it takes 3 weeks of nonstop computing from America's most powerful supercomputers to yield the results. Once quantum computing is developed it will only take 5 minutes.

 

[Dwindlin]

Serious answer: The algorithm is complicated, and still gets hung up with couples occasionally, the results still get hand checked.

 

[foley12]

Thats how long it takes for them to count, re-count, and then carry all of our money to the NRMP bank vault.

Seriously? registering for the match only costs 50 bucks.

 

[Stellar Clouds]

Seriously? registering for the match only costs 50 bucks.

It's ERAS that took your money and ran.

 

[chessknt]

It's ERAS that took your money and ran.

ERAS is chump change compared to the NBME tyranny:
17,300 US medical students required to take Step 1-3 (560+560+1200+780)=53.6M per crop of medical students, international students notwithstanding.

 

[Philosiraptor]

Seriously? registering for the match only costs 50 bucks.

Well, that, times the +/-30,000 or so applicants who use NRMP.

Then, there are a bunch of people who ranked more than 20 spots so thats 30 bucks a pop on top.

 

[Philosiraptor]

ERAS is chump change compared to the NBME tyranny:
17,300 US medical students required to take Step 1-3 (560+560+1200+780)=53.6M per crop of medical students, international students notwithstanding.

It's an amazing monopoly, whoever is profiteering off of that.

 

[Gern Blansten]

It's an amazing monopoly, whoever is profiteering off of that.

What they should do is subdivide the step II exam into two parts, one a knowledge exam and the other a clinical skills test that will have a 99.9% pass rate and only serves to catch people who cannot speak any english (even though the ECFMG is supposed to serve that purpose) or those who forget to wash their hands or ask open ended questions. Then they would be able to shakedown the medical students for even more money. It's all just med school loans anyway.

Oh wait...they did that already.

 

[Ronin786]

ERAS is chump change compared to the NBME tyranny:
17,300 US medical students required to take Step 1-3 (560+560+1200+780)=53.6M per crop of medical students, international students notwithstanding.

On a similar note, imagine how much money the folks behind UWorld make. Being the consensus resource for Step 1 and 2 definitely has its perks.

 

[foley12]

On a similar note, imagine how much money the folks behind UWorld make. Being the consensus resource for Step 1 and 2 definitely has its perks.

Nothing wrong with that. It is a fair price for a good service.

 

[Ronin786]

Nothing wrong with that. It is a fair price for a good service.

Oh, I agree. They do their job extremely well and deserve to be compensated accordingly. Just shows how it pays to be number 1.

 

[Noegrus]

On a similar note, imagine how much money the folks behind UWorld make. Being the consensus resource for Step 1 and 2 definitely has its perks.

That is an example of how much money software related things can make for you - you establish a databank of questions, keep tweaking them, people willingly pay $100 minimum to look at it, while you keep buying trucks to ship all that cash to the bank.

 

[p30doc]

Ok so run the match twice, have the computer check to make sure they are the same results, all should take less than 5 minutes. Then make preliminary match results available for viewing online, have us sign a thousand disclaimers saying this is not a final or binding match. Hey why not even charge us 50 bucks to view it, then in 3 weeks after all of their quality checking they can have status quo match day.

 

[Philosiraptor]

Ok so run the match twice, have the computer check to make sure they are the same results, all should take less than 5 minutes. Then make preliminary match results available for viewing online, have us sign a thousand disclaimers saying this is not a final or binding match. Hey why not even charge us 50 bucks to view it, then in 3 weeks after all of their quality checking they can have status quo match day.

Shh! Don't give them ideas...med student neuroticism and paranoia are very bankable.

 

[zagazig]

Shh! Don't give them ideas...med student neuroticism and paranoia are very bankable.

is your username based on a popular meme?

 

[AnesThrow]

Well at least 3 weeks is way better than the ludicrous amount of time we waited for board scores.

 

[Noegrus]

Well at least 3 weeks is way better than the ludicrous amount of time we waited for board scores.

Wasn't that three weeks as well?

 

[AnesThrow]

Wasn't that three weeks as well?

I think it was around 4-6 weeks. Closer to 6 weeks for me as far as I can remember.

 

[Ronin786]

I think it was around 4-6 weeks. Closer to 6 weeks for me as far as I can remember.

As far as I know, board scores take 3 Wednesdays and 4 Wednesdays if you take it on a Mon or Tuesday. It depends on the time of year though, in June I think it can take up to 2 months cause its the start of a new cycle.

 

[AnesThrow]

As far as I know, board scores take 3 Wednesdays and 4 Wednesdays if you take it on a Mon or Tuesday. It depends on the time of year though, in June I think it can take up to 2 months cause its the start of a new cycle.

Yes, I took it in June so I guess that would explain it.