Residency Match – In Hindsight

Image Credit: Pexels

Author: Jake Toy, DO
Modern Resident Blog Editor-in-Chief 

Publications & Social Media Committee Chair

The February 2019 rank residency list deadline is fast approaching. For some, the process of ranking their chosen emergency medicine programs in order of preference was straightforward. For others, including myself, the process of picking a program that balanced superb training and happiness was stress inducing and anxiety provoking to say the least.

As I ranked my programs, I reached out for advice from faculty advisors, peers, and family, only to discover an endless sea of competing thoughts and ideas. Upon searching in the depths of internet blogs, this only further cast a large shadow of doubt and bias on my own rank list. With each person I spoke with and article I read, I found myself left with more questions than answers. At one point, a TV commercial advertising a hospital I was considering as a “World-Class Research Institution & Top Ranked Hospital” threatened to disrupt an initial draft of my program rank list altogether. 

Lessons from the 2016 Match

Image: Common Sense

Author: Mike Wilk, MS4
Medical Student Council President '15-'16 
Originally Published: Common Sense, May/June 2016

The 2016 match in emergency medicine continued the trend of rapid growth and a bright future for our great specialty. In comparing this year’s NRMP data to last year's, the number of EM programs increased from 171 to 174 and positions increased from 1,821 to 1,895. The number of applicants rose from 2,352 to 2,474 and USA senior medical student applicants rose from 1,613 to 1,693. Only one EM position in the entire country went unmatched. The match rate for American senior med students was nearly 88% (data on whether these students ranked other specialties above EM are not yet available, so the actual match rate may be higher). The number of American MD seniors filling these positions held steady at 78.4%, from 79% the previous year. Based on these data, it looks like the number of new programs and positions continues to balance consistently high demand for EM residency slots.

From sending applications to doing rotations away to Match Day, I want to share a few lessons I learned on the way to securing my own EM residency position.

Lesson 1: Applying for Away Rotations (January-March)
I planned to do my residency in the same city where I attended medical school, so when I began the process of applying for away rotations I applied only to programs in my area. I recommend doing your away rotations in the region you want to be in for residency, as this can affect whether or not you get an interview at certain programs in that region. It is not the end of the world if you don't do a rotation in a specific region though (more on that later). I ended up rotating at both a very strong community program and a very strong academic program in my area. I also recommend that you vary your experience by rotating at different types of programs — such as county, academic, and community hospitals — since they really do have different training environments and their faculties and house staffs will be populated by different kinds of personalities.

Lesson 2: Applying through ERAS (September-October)
Speak with an experienced EM adviser who can give you honest advice about the strength of your application, and tell you how many programs to apply for through ERAS. Many of my friends committed minor errors, such as not realizing interview invitations were going to the spam box and not assigning letters of recommendation to each individual program. Check and double check your ERAS applications, and please check your spam folder throughout the entire application process!

How to Make Your Residency Rank Order List

Author: Sepi Jooniani, MD MPH

Interview season is usually a whirlwind of traveling, navigating your way around too
many new cities to count, and meeting so many people that you tend to lost track of the
details along the way. Programs may start seeming more alike than different to you after
a certain point. In making your rank list, my best advice is to follow your instincts. Your
heart usually knows what will make you the happiest before your brain does. But for
those of you who like more concrete facts, here is some actual data that shows what
factors applicants value the most in making their rank list decisions.


In the largest study of its kind, performed in 2004, all medical students registered with
ERAS that year were surveyed to assess exactly what about a program mattered to them
most. Receiving over 7,000 responses, the top five factors that students considered were
the following (please note these are in no particular order):[1]

EM Today: Updates from the Interview Trail

Originally Published: Modern Resident, February/March 2010

Original Article Author: Alex Fisher, OMS-IV

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine

Submitted by: Saadiyah Bilal (Publications Committee Co-Chair)

The interview season for EM is over! I'm not going to miss it. Most students would agree that by now, they have had their fair share of traveling, disruption and trying to balance a meager student loan budget with the costs of it all. The good news is there is light at the end of the tunnel, and you are moving one step closer to becoming a brilliant and dashing EM doc!