Just an update that last week the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) secured the Honorable Kathleen Sebelius, the twenty-first Secretary of Health and Human Services, to give the AMSA National Conference’s keynote address on Friday, March 9th from 1:00pm-1:50pm. Her speech will bump my talk – previously at 2:30pm – to 3pm.
I look forward to seeing many of you there.
Just a reminder that applicants and programs must certify their rank order lists before February 22 at 9pm EST.
Please see my previous blog entry on creating a rank list. Don’t make the error of changing your rank order last minute based on panic! Your list should be a considered decision.
I received an urgent request from an applicant last week. He wanted to discuss a pre-match offer he had received that had a Friday deadline. The pre-match program was an academic institution, which was appealing, but the interview day had left the applicant underwhelmed for a number of reasons.
On the one hand, this offer was a sure thing. On the other, the applicant had noted what he considered to be red flags. He asked me what to do.
As usual, in life there is no right answer. But here are a few suggestions if offered a pre-match:
1. Ask for more time. In the worst case scenario, the program director says no. Nothing lost.
2. Try to move up any interviews you have not yet attended.
3. Contact the other program directors and let them know you have a pre-match offer and give them the deadline date. They may offer you a pre-match in return. Or – on the contrary – they may let you know they are not interested. Either would be helpful in making your decision.
4. Speak to residents who are at the pre-match program. Trainees will often readily tell you the weaknesses of their institution :). This information will help you make an informed decision.
5. Assess a) your risk-taking comfort zone and b) the strength of your candidacy. This step is probably the hardest, yet most important.
In the end, the applicant did not accept the pre-match offer and is crossing his fingers he’ll end up at another program he likes better. He is so relieved that – with the information he has now – the decision seems to have been the right one for him.
Here is my recent contribution to the Student Doctor Network blog…
In response to persistent concerns about the “Scramble,” the two-day process when unmatched residency applicants vie for unfilled residency positions, the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) have announced significant Match Week changes to start in 2012, thus affecting next year’s residency applicants. The new system, called the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), is an attempt to improve the Scramble after repeated complaints about disorganization and lack of transparency. SOAP will overhaul the Match Week calendar, so all applicants – both unmatched and, indirectly, matched candidates – will be affected by the reforms.
Read the full story here…
http://www.studentdoctor.net/2010/10/using-soap-to-clean-up-the-scramble/
The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP®) Scramble is an oftentimes confusing process that tends to generate a lot of questions. The Scramble is a system used to fill unfilled residency positions. Some medical residency programs will have available residency slots even after the NRMP has completed the Match; these positions become available during the Scramble period so that those applicants who did not get a residency position can vie for them. Please see my article entitled, “What is the Scramble” for a complete calendar of the Scramble 2010. Read more ›
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
