Didn't match into a residency spot?

Ever year, I get a series of emails in March when 4th year medical students do not match into residency. In some circumstances, the graduating student may have a "red flag" in his or her academic history. In other cases, it's a matter of bad luck or not applying to enough residency spots.

In general, I tend to give the same advice:

1. Find a research opportunity during your transition year. This will be highly instrumental in boosting your chances of getting into a residency next year. Do your best to get something published.

2. If you have the funds and the time, you can get a one-year MPH. Do you have the time and money to make that investment and to be in school for yet another year?

3. Enjoy that year. Travel. Spend time with family. Play. You won't get this type of break again anytime soon unless you quit working.

4. Finally, there is the practical issue of finances: what do you do if you really need to generate income that year? You'd be surprised to hear what some people have done to make ends meet during that year. You can work at a restaurant, but you will always be tired because of long work shifts. Sounds like residency, doesn't it? You could do some tutoring or teaching with test prep companies. You could work for a library, a public health organization, or a You could also find a "regular" job, but most companies will know that you are probably only interested for a year of employment, so who's really going to hire you? Some consulting firms may. Or, you may get some traction finding a corporate internship within a pharmaceutical or technology company, but these jobs don't usually pay very much. Finally, there are a growing number of startup companies that may have the financial resources to employ a medical school graduate for a year. Look in SF, NY, or Boston for these tech startups.

No matter what happens, do not give up and do not lose heart. You have made it through 4 years of medical school. If you plan properly, you should be able to get into a residency so that you can pursue a clinical career. As a last resort, you can also choose to pursue a non-traditional, non-clinical career and find enjoyment and fulfillment in such a career path. There are plenty of job opportunities for MDs and DOs who did not do a residency.

2012 Residency Match: Scramble replaced with SOAP

Last Friday was Match Day.

The 2012 Main Residency Match was the largest in NRMP history. More than 38,000 applicants vied for 26,772 PGY-1 and PGY-2 positions. In addition, the NRMP debuted the Match Week Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), a new system designed to automate, streamline and equalize the process for unmatched applicants seeking unfilled positions.

SOAP replaced the traditional "scramble" used in the past to help programs fill unfilled positions. Here's some more information:

For individuals who were not matched to a residency position, the NRMP debuted the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance ProgramSM (SOAPSM), a new process developed in partnership with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and in consultation with student affairs deans, residency program directors, resident physicians, and medical students. Designed to help streamline, equalize, and automate the process for students who are not matched initially, SOAP replaces the “Scramble,” the unofficial name for the period of time during Match Week when unmatched applicants contact programs with unfilled positions. Under SOAP, the NRMP makes available the locations of unfilled positions so that unmatched students can submit applications for these positions through the AAMC’s Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS®). After receiving applications through ERAS, residency program directors create a list of candidates in order of preference and the NRMP offers positions in that order in a series of up to eight rounds. Applicants are able to receive multiple offers in a single round; if an offer is accepted, it is binding.

Residency Match Day is Today. Didn't Match? Here Are Some Options

Today is Match Day. Congratulations to all the 4th year medical students who matched! If you didn't match, let's consider some options.

If you didn't match, here are a few suggestions:

1. Develop a clear, one-year plan where you will work in a non-clinical setting, volunteer, travel, etc. Make sure you stay productive. Find some non-clinical jobs on the NonClinicalJobs Job Board.

2. Residency spots will open up throughout the year. Do you want to jump into a position in the fall? As long as you're willing to live anywhere, you'll find open positions.

3. Spend the next 12 months strengthening your residency application for the next year.

4. Speak with a mentor/career coach/advisor who can guide you through this process.

Free coaching session for one medical student who doesn't match this year

Match Day is March 18 and it's coming up! Given that someone always does not match (and is also unable to scramble into an open residency spot), I'm offering a free job/career coaching session for a medical student who doesn't match (or scramble) this year.  If you didn't match this year, do you have a backup plan? What are the best job options in today's economy? How can you make that single year very productive and optimize your chances to match next year?

Maybe you matched, but you know someone who didn't match. You can help that person by giving him/her a chance to get some free job/career coaching. Enter the contest and transfer the prize if you win!

I'll be holding a random-number drawing and will announce a winner on April 30.  So, between now and April 30, you must do the following in order to enter the contest:

1. You must have a Twitter account and you must follow me (@DrJosephKim) on Twitter. 
2. You must re-tweet this blog post.
3. You must have a Facebook account and you must become a fan of all 4 of my blogs on Facebook. Click on the following links for each Facebook fan page:
• Medicine and Technology
• Non-Clinical Jobs
• Medical Smartphones
• Mobile Health Computing

That's it!  You need to follow these rules to enter the contest. On April 30, I will announce the winner by holding a random drawing. If you win, then you can either receive the coaching session yourself, or you can transfer the session to someone else.

Jobs for medical school grads who don't pursue residency

The following post continues to receive a significant amount of traffic and I wonder if it will become more popular after Match Day (I really hope that's not the case, but you simply never know).

Here's the post, titled: 

Jobs for Physicians with No Residency Experience

Medical school graduates want to know, "what can I do if I don't do residency?"

If you didn't match into a residency this year, I hope you'll match next year. If you decide that residency isn't for you, then there's still hope for you to pay your bills and student loans.

Options for medical school grads who don't match on Match Day

Match Day is a ceremonial day when 4th year medical students discover where they will be doing their medical and surgical internships and residencies. Match Day is coming up in a few weeks (March 18) and I'm sure many students are anxiously waiting for the results.

What happens if you don't match? You could scramble, but what if you still don't find a position? What can you do to remain productive? There are several options, including some non-clinical options.  Here are a few of my thoughts (and you could also combine some of these):

• Research job.
• One-year MBA.
• One-year MPH.
• Medical writing.
• Blogging.  
• Restaurant work.
• Consulting for a start-up.
• Travel the world (if you have the luxury)
• Volunteer.

It's important to be creative and responsible with your options. You may have student loans to repay. Not matching is both a significant burden and an opportunity for you to do something meaningful while you get ready to start a busy internship/residency.

Research pathway during residency

Some medical students really don't enjoy seeing patients. As a result, some don't plan to go through residency. Others may try residency, but then they drop out. So, are there other alternatives?

Most people have not heard of the "integrated research pathway" during residency (probably because it's not common).

The Integrated Research Pathway is an American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) approved mechanism for pediatric residency training... The research pathway is designed for residents who have earned a M.D. or M.D./PhD. degree and are committed to an academic research career.

The objectives of the Integrated Research Pathway (IRP) are:

• to attract committed young physician-scientists to pediatrics;
• to provide mechanisms to sustain research interest, skills, knowledge, and productivity during core pediatric training;
• to offer a means for fostering transition to a physician-scientist career;
• to ensure that trainees accomplish the requisite training and acquire the skills to function as competent pediatricians in the independent care of children.

The ABP guidelines can be found here.

Shared-Residency Positions

Not sure if you can handle the harshness of residency? Don't want to get abused by overly-critical attendings? Don't want to live like a "scut monkey?" Prefer college hazing over internship? Then consider this: a shared residency position.

Shared-residency positions are offered by a few programs participating in the Match. In a shared-residency, two residents share one position, usually alternating months on clinical rotations with time off to devote to families, research, or other pursuits.

At the end of the day, you have to decide if clinical medicine is the right fit for you. Married to another medical student? Maybe you should think about this option?

To learn more about shared-residency positions, click here to go to the NRMP (National Resident Matching Program) website. Good luck finding a partner!