The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) publishes USMLE performance data year after year, and the most recent information regarding the 2022 testing cycle is particularly interesting. Frankly, I’m not sure what to make of it, but performance on Step 1 is notably worse than years prior (e.g. 2021 compared to 2020; 2020 compared to 2019). I’m not sure if this is related to the pandemic, changes in the test itself, or some other factor. Here is the data.
For those of you who are starting to craft your Match rank order list, please make sure you follow this simple strategy: Rank your first choice first, your second second, your third third, etc.
In other words, your most successful approach is to create your list in order of your real preferences. Although the Match algorithm is mathematically quite complicated, because the process always begins with an attempt to match an applicant to the program most preferred on the applicant’s list, you do not want to try to “game” the system. For example, I’ve had applicants tell me that they plan to rank a less preferred institution higher because that program has more residency slots. That’s a no-no. The applicant will actually be harming him/herself with that strategy.
Two weeks ago I posted a short NRMP video that explains the Match algorithm. Here it is again. Here’s also a less-than-one-minute Guru on the Go© video “NRMP Ranking to Avoid a Spanking” to emphasize your optimal strategy.
For those of you who are starting to think about your Match rank order list, please make sure you follow this simple strategy: Rank your first choice first, your second second, your third third, etc.
In other words, your most successful approach is to create your list in order of your real preferences. Although the Match algorithm is mathematically quite complicated, because the process always begins with an attempt to match an applicant to the program most preferred on the applicant’s list, you do not want to try to “game” the system. For example, I’ve had applicants tell me that they plan to rank a less preferred institution higher because that program has more residency slots. That’s a no-no. The applicant will actually be harming him/herself with that strategy.
Here’s a video the NRMP created to better explain the Match algorithm. Here’s also a less-than-one-minute Guru on the Go© video “NRMP Ranking to Avoid a Spanking” to emphasize your optimal strategy.
Congratulations to all of my clients who will be starting medical school soon. This is a tremendous achievement. For those who hope to matriculate in the next year or two, I might recommend this Varsity Tutors piece that I wrote several years ago and the follow-up article. The “medical school paradox” is a tough one to crack, but if you prepare in advance, you’ll have an excellent head start and a professional advantage.
I participated in a great Harvard Medical School webinar on implicit bias in medicine with cardiologist Dr. Quinn Capers IV, who is a dean at UT Southwestern Medical School. Dr. Capers has published work documenting racial and gender bias in medical school admissions, among other realms. He has also published recommendations on how clinicians and medical educators can mitigate implicit bias in patient care and candidate selection.
In the webinar, Dr. Capers covered strategies to reduce or neutralize implicit bias, including
1. Common identify formation – Ask interviewee questions about interests and activities that you share in common.
2. Perspective taking – Take the perspective of a member of the group against which you have unconscious bias.
3. Consider the opposite – When data seem to point to one conclusion, briefly look for information supporting the opposite conclusion before making a final decision.
4. Counter stereotypical exemplars – Spend time with or focus on individuals you admire from groups against which you have a bias.
Dr. Capers described providing an implicit bias “cheat sheet” that included these strategies to medical school interviewers at The Ohio State College of Medicine, where he previously worked. If you have a chance to hear a lecture by Dr. Capers, make sure to grab the opportunity.
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
