ok thanks Roxy.

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SGU-SOM, Class of 2010
Due to the high volume of private messages, I can only answer questions that are posted in a forum. Private messages will be ignored.

RJ - You may be surprised how little you can assume about the whole interview process. I got a random mixture of interview offers from University and community hospitals. For example, I got interviews at two of the major University programs in Manhattan but NONE from any of the small community programs. Whereas in other places, I only got community hospital invites. So the best thing to do is blanket everybody with applications then pick and choose where you want to interview.

thanks guys,
I have another general question about residency. So lets say you apply to 100 places and you interview at 40 of those places. Do you get to see who accepted you out of those 40? Because I always thought that once you have interviewed you rank the places you've interviewed and then it's a surprise to see if you matched anywhere, or something like that. Also what happens if you apply to two or three different types of residencies?
thanks for the answers.

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SGU-SOM, Class of 2010
Due to the high volume of private messages, I can only answer questions that are posted in a forum. Private messages will be ignored.

initially during match week in march, you just find out you "matched" somewhere but will have no idea. not until later on during that week, think wed or thurs when the list is opened and you find out exactly where you matched at

Whoa whoa whoa...I have never heard of anyone interviewing at 40 places. And probably unlikely that you would get 40 interviews for anesthesia (has nothing to do with your personal credentials but that we are IMG and anesthesia is moderately competitive).

You only have 3-4 months of interviewing time WHILE you are doing clinical rotations. And you generally aren't allowed a bunch of days off per rotation to do interviews, maybe two or three tops. Some people schedule in a two week break during this period to try to do as many interviews as they can in that time.

I don't know the average number of interviews for transitional year or IM or whatever do but for path I did 10 interviews and that was plenty for me to handle (they were all day extravaganzas). So you very well may be turning down interviews if you get more than, say, 15 or so.

After an interview, a program may offer to sign you out of the match or they may rank you. If they rank you highly and you rank them highly then you may match with each other. There are alot of details and nuances involved in this process so I suggest you go to the NRMP website and have a look at the way the Match works. They provide examples and scenarios to help you understand the process.

like dunsoon said RJ, the chances of anyone being able to do 40 interviews (for anything) is almost impossible, the timimg, the expense, and most of all your stamina to DO that many is just too much.

plus you have to remember for anesthesia (or any adv standing residency) you will also have to do transitional and prelim interviews as well. Also programs don't interview every day, don't OFFER you every day and logistically it would be difficult to schedule that many in a 2-3 month period.

i have taken the whole month of jan for interviews and if i can get 10-13 done in that month i will be very excited (and tired).

as for interviewing more than one type of residency- when you rank them, you rank the programs in the order you want to go to them- you may rank all the say anesthesia places 1st, then rank the IM places if say that is your back up or intermingle them if say you haven't made up your mind about what you want to do...

i agree with dunsoon- go look on the nrmp website- they give an explanation about how the match works- its still convuluted, but it may answer some of your questions.

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GI Elective [x].......Wards [x]
Wards [x] ............Night Float [x]
MICU [x] .............CCU []
Wards [x] ............PGY 1 1/2 []
Elective!![x]..........Move Complete[]
VACATION!!!! [x]

ok thanks Roxy, i'll take a look at it when the time closer for me to apply.

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SGU-SOM, Class of 2010
Due to the high volume of private messages, I can only answer questions that are posted in a forum. Private messages will be ignored.

can we sticky this please?

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GI Elective [x].......Wards [x]
Wards [x] ............Night Float [x]
MICU [x] .............CCU []
Wards [x] ............PGY 1 1/2 []
Elective!![x]..........Move Complete[]
VACATION!!!! [x]

Thank you Dunsoon. or should i say Done Soon. Why can't they just tell you which programs accepted you and then you pick where you want to go? The way they do this is kind of messed up.. I guess i'll just have to look at that website..

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SGU-SOM, Class of 2010
Due to the high volume of private messages, I can only answer questions that are posted in a forum. Private messages will be ignored.

Your welcome. Yeah, it does seem kind of convoluted and complicated but this system apparently works much better than the previous system which was similar to what you are describing - it used to be much more like a regular job application process whereby people interview, offers were made, there were negotiations back and forth and then applicants choose where they want to go.

The way I understand it was that system didn't work well because programs were offering higher salaries and other incentives to applicants that they wanted more so some one would think they had a job in the bag and then the offer would be retracted because someone with better qualifications (or whatever arbitrary factor) would demonstrate interest in the spot. It created a big mess for everybody and was difficult to consistently fill spots and get people employed in a semi-fair manner.

Thus the Match process was created such that everyone applies and interviews during the same part of the year, after the rankings go in no one can do further negotiations, and everyone finds out on the same day. Of course, we have a different situation as IMGs in that we can bypass much of this system by signing out of the match and that can be somewhat of a blessing and a curse depending on your situation.

My advice to everyone is to look into and understand this process as early as you can, even if you are in your first or second year because it will help you understand where you are heading and what you need to be successful in getting a good residency spot. Alot of people don't figure out how to work the system until it is too late or cause themselves undue stress because of confusion.