I moved home from New York City in mid-December and I've been running ever since. There were so many relatives that I have not seen (some since before I started medical school) and I still had to go to more residency interviews in January. I have learned that I hate traveling but I like vacationing---I don't like taking driving trip, flying or basically any means of transportation that lasts more than a few hours, but I do like exploring a new corner of the world once I get there!
Well, lets just jump to the exciting parts. At the end of the interviewing process, I had to make a "rank list" of all of the programs that I interviewed at--from my top choice down. At the same time, the programs were making a rank list of their applicants. Then a computer does some magic and "matches" me with the highest ranked program on my list that ranked me highly enough on their list so that I match into their program. I submitted my rank list in early February and had to wait until March 12th to find out if I had matched. An email was sent at 12:00pm EST on Monday, March 12th, but it only told you if you matched or if you did not. Here is a copy of mine:
"Congratulations, you have matched!"
I had no idea where I was going, but I knew I would be a pediatrician. It was such a relief to know that I had a job. I had been offered a position outside of the match (meaning that I would have signed the contract and cancelled my other interviews), which I turned down so I was anxious that I made the wrong decision until I found out that I got a job in the match. The first couple days I was so excited that I got a job and I was dreaming of where it could be. By Thursday, I was ready to know where I would be living for the next three years, but I wouldn't find out until Friday at 1:00 EST. I was almost certain that I would be headed back to the Northeast, most likely New York City, so I was surprised to find out that I matched in the west: Viva Las Vegas!
I believe that applicants (and programs) do not find out where they matched until Friday because they do the SOAP (supplemental offers and acceptance program, which was formally the 'scramble'). The SOAP is like a mini application season--resubmit applications, offer of phone interview, rank list and offers--that occurs every few hours from Tuesday until Wednesday (or Thursday) afternoon. It sounded like a horrible process and I am so grateful that I didn't have to go through it. I believe the information of where people matched is withheld until Friday because many medical schools have "match day" parties and they want to give everyone a chance to go through the SOAP before the party. I might not be right about that, but it makes sense to me.
As you can probably tell, this process is extremely stressful and you can be a great applicant, but still not match. Since this is a once a year job application process, if you don't get hired, you wait until next year and do the whole process again. They say that every year further from graduation you are, the harder it gets to match. I cannot find the statistics from the 2012 match yet, but in 2011 30,589 applicants vied for 23,421 available first year and 2,737 second-year residency position (some residencies have you do one year in a general specialty like internal medicine or surgery then you move into your very specialized field like radiology or ophthalmology). From the information I can find, there were even more applicants this year and I don't think that the total number of residency positions changed much. I am so lucky and grateful to have a residency spot for next year.
After learning that I matched, I had paperwork to get started. I had to sign an agreement saying that I would be going to Nevada (part of going into the match is signing legally binding documents that state you will go wherever you match, if you don't you are in huge trouble--there are a few rare situations where you can apply for an exception, like if you get extremely ill and cannot start residency). Next, I had to start filling out my medical license application information. It was so strange to fill in the line that says "physician's name" with mine. It was surreal. Also, much of the information sent to me was addressed to Dr. Nicole or Nicole, M.D., which still makes me smile to see. I have dreamed of being a doctor since I was five years old and I have been working for years, but it still doesn't seem real yet. I expect that after the first few months or year of residency, I'll be more comfortable being called doctor. I have been advised by several nurse friends and other doctors that I must start residency by being called "Doctor" to make sure that I set myself up as a physician (rather than just someone else in the hospital) and then continue my hard work to earn my co-workers and patient's respect. I have worked hard to earn my doctorate and now I need to live up to the title of doctor!
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