Please take a look at my recent guest entry on the KevinMD blog exploring the disconnect between emergency medicine’s immense popularity in the Match and an Archives of Internal Medicine study documenting severe burnout among emergency physicians. (According to the research, emergency physicians experience burnout at a rate of more than three times that of the average doctor and more than anyone else inside or outside of the medical field.) Pre-meds and medical students will find useful information in my guest blog entry, as they consider their future fields and lifestyles.
Emergency Medicine: Can a Sizzling Hot Specialty Burn You to a Crisp?
IMG Performance in the 2013 Match – Good News and Bad News
The good news is that a greater number of IMGs (International Medical Graduates) matched to first-year positions in the 2013 Match compared to last year’s. According to the ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates® ), 6,311 of the 12,683 IMGs who participated matched, which was an increase of 1,425 compared to 2012. The bad news is that that number only translates into 49.8% of IMGs’ matching to first year positions.
Although international medical schools are a good option for some candidates, it is worth noting these numbers if you are a pre-med considering an international school.
Compared to the Old Scramble, NRMP’s SOAP Cleans Up the Match
For those interested in a comprehensive explanation of the NRMP’s process for unmatched candidates,here is an article I wrote for Student Doctor Network with a step-by-step approach to the
Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP). Most residency applicants are hopeful about their Match prospects, but if you are not a strong candidate, it’s not a bad idea to understand SOAP early.
For IMGs Participating in the 2014 Match
International Medical Graduates who are planning to participate in this coming year’s match should note that the ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) ERAS Support Services will not longer accept paper documents. All of an applicant’s supporting documents must be submitted electronically. For more information about how different documents (transcripts, photographs, letters of recommendation) should be submitted, click here.
The Nobel Prize and the Match
Some of you may have heard about last week’s economics Nobel Prize announcements, but you may not know that one of the Nobel winners created the current Match algorithm. Previously, residency applicants would try to game the Match because of an algorithm flaw, but now the system is much fairer. See this interesting NYT article for details.
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.
