Facts about the Match
Introduction
 Prior to the mid 70’s, getting into a
residency was “crazy”
 Then the NIMP became the NRMP
 Programs were still quite variable so
getting into the “right place” was
important (but still pyramidal)
 The ACGME has “leveled the field”
 Today the “Match” really means
finding the program that matches the
applicant
Caveats
 Students get information from many
sources (Student Affairs, current
residents, other students, parents,
family doctor, etc)
 Much of the information is WRONG
NRMP 2007-2009 USF Data
1. Percentile Distribution for All Matched Seniors: All Specialties Combined
Characteristic
25th
2007 - 2009
50th
75th
Match Characteristics:
1. Number of matched seniors
247
342
442
2. Percentage of class matched
93.3 93.4 95.2
96.6
312
3. Mean number of programs ranked
8.0
8.3
9.2
10.0
4. Mean number of programs ranked in matched
specialty
6.2
6.4
7.4
8.1
2.2
Student Characteristics:
5. Mean number of work experiences
2.4
2.6
3.0
6. Mean number of volunteer experiences
5.3
6.1
6.9
7. Mean number of research experiences
1.6
1.7
2.0
2.5
1.5
1.9
8. Mean number of publications
2.1
3.0
15.1
16.5
USMLE Step Scores:
10. Mean Step 1 score
207.0 219.4 223.0
237.0
11. Mean Step 2 Scores
212.0
9. Percent AOA members
9.5
13.2
229.0 234.9 244.0
7.4
NRMP 2007-2009 USF Data
25. Percentile Distribution for All Matched Seniors: Unmatched
Characteristic
2007 - 2009
50th
25th
75th
Match Characteristics:
1. Number of matched seniors
11
17
22
24
2. Percentage of class
3.4
4.8
6.6
6.7
3. Mean number of programs ranked
4. Mean number of programs ranked in
matched specialty
Student Characteristics:
5. Mean number of work experiences
5.0
5.8
6.8
--Does Not Apply for Unmatched Seniors --
2.1
2.4
2.5
2.9
6. Mean number of volunteer
experiences
4.1
5.0
6.1
6.6
7. Mean number of research
experiences
1.6
2.1
2.7
2.8
8. Mean number of publications
1.4
2.1
2.3
3.1
9. Percent AOA members
0.0
0.0
4.5
6.3
USMLE Step Scores:
10. Mean Step 1 score
194.0
207.0
219.1
224.0
11. Mean Step 2 scores
193.0
209.0
227.0
235.8
Program
P(match givenUS)
P(match
givenUS)
0
Family Medicine
0.98
Internal Medicine
0.98
Pediatrics
0.98
Neurology
0.97
Neurology
Psychiatry
0.95
Psychiatry
Anesthesiology
0.94
Anesthesiology
Emergency Medicine
0.94
Emergency…
Obstetrics/Gynecology
0.94
Obstetrics/Gynec…
Pathology
0.94
Pathology
Physical Medicine
0.94
Physical Medicine
All Programs
0.93
All Programs
Radiology
0.88
Radiology
General Surgery
0.88
Neurosurgery
0.82
Orthopedic Surgery
0.82
Otolaryngology
0.82
Dermatology
Dermatology
0.73
Plastic Surgery
Plastic Surgery
0.71
Vascular Surgery…
Vascular Surgery (integrated)
0.67
0.5
1
Family Medicine
Internal Medicine
Pediatrics
General Surgery
Neurosurgery
Orthopedic Surgery
Otolaryngology
P(match givenUS)
2010 Match-Scramble Survey
• 111 (of 126) schools responded
• 14,623 seniors represented (NRMP =
16,070)
•
871 unmatched on Monday 3/15/10
(6.0%)
•
194 without a PGY-1 position on
3/29/10 (1.3%)
•
179 “ready to start” according to their
student affairs deans (1.2%)
2010 Match-Scramble Survey
• Of those 179
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
81
49
28
18
16
13
11
6
2
1
- not competitive for chosen field
- USMLE issues
- Rank order issues
- Difficulty with the process
- Geography
- Overly Aggressive
- Poor interviewing skills
- Professionalism issues
- Poor Letters of Recommendation
- Poor advice
Things to consider
 How competitive is the student
 How competitive is the discipline
 How much help is the student going to
need, how do you help get it
 Alternate Plan, where indicated
 “What Color is Your Parachute-2010”
by Richard Bolles ($12.91 at Amazon)
• Interviewing skills
• Dress
 Careers in Medicine (AAMC resource)
2010 NRMP Data for US Seniors
Matched US Seniors
%matched first choice
%matched second choice
%matched third choice
%matched 4th choice
%matched >4th choice
%unmatched
Couples match rate (N=808 couples)
93.3%
52.7%
15.4%
9.2%
5.3%
11.6%
5.9%
93.4%
52.7%
68.1%
77.3%
82.6%
94.2%
5.9%
USF 2010 Class Data
Applications
first quartile
median
Interviews
Attended
15
7
# ranked
5
5
24
11
8
7
36.5
15
11
10
Minimum
3
1
1
0
Maximum
100
51
24
24
third quartile
Things to Address
 Need to list at least 7 institutions that
the student is willing to go to (or more)
 Interviewing do’s and don’ts
 How to put together a match list.
Determining “risk”
 Surgery example
• risk of surgery is estimated by
• risk of operation x risk of patient
 Match example
• Risk of not matching is a combination of
• risk of “chosen field” x risk of student
 Take home message
• Understand how competitive your field is
• Understand how competitive you are
Risk of Discipline
90+%
80-89%
70-79%
60-69%
50-59%
Anesthesiology 93%
Emergency Med 88%
Med Peds 77%
Dermatology 69%
Plastic Surgery 56%
Neurology 95%
Family Med 87%
Orthopedics 75%
Pathology 90%
Internal Med 85%
Otolaryngology 77%
Pediatrics 90%
Neurosurgery 82%
Radiation Onc 79%
Psychiatry 90%
Obstetrics 88%
Surgery 71%
Radiology Diagnostic 90%
Physical Med 89%
Your Risk
 Getting an interview
• USMLE Step 1 Score
• Rank in Class
• Getting help
 Getting ranked highly
•
•
•
•
•
AOA
“Audition Rotation” +/Rank in Class
Interview
Letter from someone KNOWN
Getting “GOOD” advice
 Career Counselor/Master Trainers
•
•
•
•
•
•
Michael Flannery (IM)
Erika Abel (IM/Peds)
Lara Katzin (Neuro)
William Marshall (Surgery & Specialties)
Kelly O’Keefe (Emergency Medicine)
Eduardo Gonzalez (Family Medicine)
 USF Faculty (sometimes wrong)
 Residents (often wrong, N=1)
 Other Students (often wrong, N=0)
 Family/friends (usually wrong, old)
USMLE Step 2 Exam
 Required to be ranked?
 Delay in starting residency
 Score “decays” with time
Summary
 Get good advice
 Understand the field and yourself
 Meet with USF Chair and/or PD
 Rank at least 7 programs
 Have a developed “Plan B”
 DON’T count on the scramble
 Take Step 2 early