Not Matching into Residency
Match Day is one of the most nervous and exciting days for Medical Students. But one things most people don’t talk about is, what if they don’t match into a Residency program? That’s when the Scramble comes in,” aka The SOAP (Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program) Starts 1-hour after Medical Students find out if they matched into a Residency Program and will end on Friday. The SOAP is a second chance at securing a position.
After the “The Scramble” and things did not work out, note that not matching will not make or break their career; it’s only a little set back that makes them work harder. Options exist if they don’t match, and one of those options is to go into a Research Fellowship. Doing this helps build their resume, plus it allows them to make connections with established physicians within specialties. It won’t be easy because research takes a lot of time and hard work. They will be reviewing tons of data, writing multiple papers, and doing all the administrative work.
How to support your partner who did not Match into Residency?
During this time, offer tons of support to your partner and do the little things without asking. They will appreciate your calmness and composer during this time.
We know multiple great, bright, and intelligent doctors who did not match into a Residency Program the first and second time of applying. It surely brought them down, but in the end, everything worked out, and they got accepted to their specialty of choice!
Recommend them some resources to secure other positions:
- Association of Program Directors in Surgery
- Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
- American Urological Association
- FREIDA (log-in required)
Be supportive to your partner who is applying to Residency. Don’t think of it as rejection; there are 45,000 well-trained medical students applying for only 31,000 residency positions according to the National Residency Matching Program. If your partner doesn’t get accepted, it’s now more important than ever to be supportive and stay positive. In the end, it’s your support that will make the difference in whether things will turn out the way it should.
If you are the one who didn’t match, do not take it out on your partner; use this time to talk about your stress and the uncertainty about the future together. Topics to explore to discuss if another year goes by without matching: figure out finances (moving, student-loans, marriage, children, etc.) and what other options there are that could secure a residency position.
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