Who knows what goes on in the mind of program directors, but I can say for a fact that the programs were the top ones in my state. I was employed by one before medical school for a number of years and had numerous internal memos about me to the program director even before I got there. He offered the prematch, then the other hospitals countered when I informed them of it.

So I'd have to refute your argument stating that the program directors were afraid of not matching or going deep in their ROL. Im pretty solid that it was a matter of securing one of their top candidates for residency.

having sat in on match discussions for a third time now at 3 different hospitals in 2 states all i can say is wait until you go through a rank meeting to see what actually happens and what you perceived as a student. all i can say again is that programs pre match because they are afraid of not filling or having gone too far on their rank list in previous years. i can also tell you that *** *** ****** applicants from US schools will ask how many people a program has prematched and how many of us foreign grads they take and may influence them so that is another reason programs avoid prematching.

alot of things influence these thinfgs. on the other hand i can say that fdoing rotations at a place and impressing a program will give you better shot by making you move up on the rank list but again programs that pre match do so to fill a need that is there if they filled their top 10 every year there is no reason for it.

now don't get me wrong, i think pre match is the only advantage we hgave going to our schools if you are offered a position in your top choice but that is about it.

as a side note why is it that every member allways goes to a "top school" in thier state or just names a reagion of the country? just name the school for God's sake!

if someone is gonna try name dropping go all the way...hehehe that way we will know to be really impressed, owned, taken back or simply laugh

__________________
OBGYN PGY II
I see light at the end of the tunnel!!!...wait a minute its just another freakin tunnel!

I also think that is kind of funny when people who were offered a pre-match alway say "it was my 1st, 2nd, or 3rd choice" way back in Nov or Dec, when they are still interviwing (have other programs to compare) or havent even created a rank list. But yes, a clasic is "its a top school in the northeast"

__________________
The three leading causes of Death in America:
3) Cancer 2) Heart Disease 1) Chuck Norris

Family Medicine (X) Surgery (X), IM (X), OBGYN (X), PEDS (X), IM/PEDS (X), Psychiatry (X), Cardiology (X), Neurology ( ), Nuero-Surgery ( ), AI Neurology ( ), Pediatric-Neurology ( ), Geriatrics ( )

Quote:

Originally Posted by smu79 I also think that is kind of funny when people who were offered a pre-match alway say "it was my 1st, 2nd, or 3rd choice" way back in Nov or Dec, when they are still interviwing (have other programs to compare) or havent even created a rank list. But yes, a clasic is "its a top school in the northeast"

yes, its as funny as the classic transfer student that moves schools because they (fill in the blank of plausible but ridiculous reasons) not because they are about to fail out...

__________________
OBGYN PGY II
I see light at the end of the tunnel!!!...wait a minute its just another freakin tunnel!

I speak from personal experience...pre match often does mean that they want to fill spots. But, that is a generalization. There are many, many examples of pre match spots offered simply because the candidate was exceptional, and the program wanted to ensure they got the candidate. This is especially true at programs that do not typically offer pre matches....

If a program constantly offers pre match positions, and a good portion of each years class is filled outside the match, chances are good that they need pre match to fill. If a program offers one prematch every ten years, or has never done it, and always filled...well, you don't have to be a genius to figure out that they don't need to prematch.

Regardless, prematch is a great advantage if you get it from a top choice. Who cares whether that program offers them all the time, needs to offer them, whatever. If you love a program (after, of course, interviewing at many other spots), and want to be there, and they give you a prematch, take it. If your application is weak, and you think you will not match, take it. If it is a program you don't love, and you have a good application, go through the match.

This is not rocket science, folks....

not true. there are instances every year with programs that offer a prematch that never have done it before, and never have problems matching.

a pattern of offering pre match contracts is suspicious for being unable to fill in the match. but, there are big name programs out there that occasionally offer a pre match to an exeptional candidate, and they do not have worries about filling.

I did sign the prematch letter of intent with my #1 program back in December, and as a result did not go to the rest of my interviews. My program is traditionally known to have an excess of candidates and hasn't offered a prematch in years, so I feel kinda important right now.
They get over 3000 applications each year, but are very selective of whom they interview (Avg USMLE score is 90, Less than 3 years grad, doesnt sponsor visas, affiliated w/ Universities, etc).
It's a top program in my state, Michigan, and in the whole Midwest for that matter. I dont want it to effect anybody's rank list so I'm not going to say the name of the program.
Besides, I'm studying to knock out Step 3 in a little bit with all my extra time off... other than that.. it feels really good to prematch at my top choice (of the 9 programs that I interviewed at up until mid-Dec).

Pre-matches are only nice if it is one of your top 3 choices otherwise it makes things even more tense because now you must decide whether you should accept a guaranteed slot at an institution or risk losing it for a better choice.

To be honest almost all hospitals are good/decent b/c if they weren't they would be shut down by now. They each must undergo many site visits (dept of health, Joint commission, etc.) yearly which ultimately imporves care and functioning. Therefore there really isnt a need to put down other hospitals to make another one sound better.

Of course some have better capabilities than others but in terms of care each should theoretically be "good or on par."

__________________
"Wisdom begins in wonder"

congratulations. if it is a spot you wanted, and a residency that will train you well, you did great.

matching in general is getting more and more difficult, at least at the programs i am familiar with. quality of applicants (and residents) in recent years is pretty high. if you get a spot, you have done well, IMHO, especially if that spot is the one you wanted.

i am not sure why some are undermining your accomplishment. whether or not they would take a prematch, or whatever they feel about prematch offers, the fact is, you were offered a spot, you are happy with the offer, and you took it. a pissing contest about how good or bad the program, or broad, derogatory statements about the pre match in general, seems pretty ridiculous to me.

i would take issue with this...there is a huge difference in quality of training between hospitals, and even between departments in hospitals. if the question is will you legally be able to practice medicine somewhere after finishing any accredited residency, then the answer is yes. other than that there are huge variations of training, and you do need to be sure that your needs are met by the program you attend.

granted, a poor applicant may just have to take what they can get. but, i would be very careful with this attitude when choosing a residency. there are many, many folks out there wishing they chose differently. specific examples are things like pending or existing RRC probation, little exposure to certain specialities, little or no exposure to types of care you plan to use in practice, poor numbers of patients or cases, etc...

moral of the story is don't simply assume you will be well trained because the program is open. most will do at least an ok job, but there are many, many caveats to that assumption.