For those Doing the Match and Interview thing

I just wanted to send my support to those of you doing the Match and Interviewing. My DH has been involved deeply in the process this year being chief. I painfully remember those days with lots of stress and very little humor. I don't know if all schools do this, but they rounded everyone up in a room to hand out the match letters like a little celebration. But, number 1, not everyone was happy with what they got, and number 2, the stress on those with spouses and families was so huge that no-one felt like celebrating. It was more like the feeling that and endangered loved one had survived some life or death event.

Even though my DH had gotten good news, we still went home and just stared for a while. THEN we got on the computer and started researching our future home kind of fanatically, like all the stress had to go somewhere!

On the up side, there were those who basically knew all along where they would go and were thrilled. For instance the smartest man I ever met, who got record breaking boards, really wanted to be a family doc in Alaska. He was a great family man with 4 kids at the time. Who would turn him down? (and girls, if you saw this guy, whoow, handsome, strong and a big eagle tattooed across his back. If he had interviewed with any women they would have been clinging to his legs on the way home. Maybe some guys too)

So good luck, and may the anti-stress faeries whap you with their wands![/img]

[Michele]

Thank you!

[KCwife]

Thanks

Thanks. Thankfully we (AUA Match) get our results via email...so no big envelope thing. Michele is this how the SF Match works too?

[Gwendolyn]

My thoughts are with you all as well.

We found out over the phone because of SF early match. We did have friends who were dating and did not couples match. They had to find out that they were going to the opposite ends of the country surrounded by the whole class+family members

Michele, you find out soon don't you?

[houseelf]

Yes, I think the match letter opening should be done in private. I could still use a few therapy sessions over our match day.

At DH's match day, a large rotating drum holding all the match letters was placed in the center of the stage in an enormous auditorium. The dean called out each student's name one by one to call each person to the front of the room to read their letter. After an hour of this, DH's name was called. We dutifully marched our little family down in front of everyone. DH opened the letter and read that we matched somewhere that was our second choice which I wasn't crazy about. Then we had to spend the rest of the day "celebrating" with everyone. In retrospect, I think that this was an appropriate start to residency.

Anyway, I hope that no one ever has to go through this again.

Best wishes,

Kelly

[Vanquisher]

Yes, I think the match letter opening should be done in private. I could still use a few therapy sessions over our match day.

At DH's match day, a large rotating drum holding all the match letters was placed in the center of the stage in an enormous auditorium. The dean called out each student's name one by one to call each person to the front of the room to read their letter. After an hour of this, DH's name was called. We dutifully marched our little family down in front of everyone. DH opened the letter and read that we matched somewhere that was our second choice which I wasn't crazy about. Then we had to spend the rest of the day "celebrating" with everyone. In retrospect, I think that this was an appropriate start to residency.

Anyway, I hope that no one ever has to go through this again.

Best wishes,

Kelly

:thud: :thud:

Wow.

At our match day everyone was given their envelope by the dean who wrote their Dean's letter. Then, Chad, the kids, and I opened the letter. There was a food assortment set out. There were a few parents and such there, not many, but we were one of the few families. We were interviewed by the local paper. It could have been dh carrying around the 10 day old baby. But, wow, opening it up in front of everyone to publicly cry out your pain. Yikes. We matched at #2 too. One of Dh's friends matched at #11 (not the best student, but still). I can't imagine having other people find out at the same time as me where he matched. I felt it was a private moment for Chad and I and not to be shared if we didn't want to. Schools should really rethink how they do Match Day.

[KCwife]

I agree with the privacy thing. DH's match arrives at 12:01am on Jan 23rd. Some of his classmates/friends have already tried to invite themselves over for the night of the 22nd for the finale...but I have put a kibosh on that notion. Right now I don't care where he matches on our rank list....as long as he matches. We ended up not even ranking 5 programs he interviewed at because of the horrible public schools in the locale. I think our kids are going to have a really hard time with the match...ie, leaving their school, friends, etc. So, it would be REALLY cruel to have others around when they find out.


AGGGGGHHHHHHHHH, I just need this to be over!

FYI- Michele I know that you find out three days before me, but I am really jealous about those three days!

[SueC]

DH's was done "Price is Right" style. Everybody was in a big auditorium and they would call them down and announce where they were going and what they were studying. No privacy, whatsoever. I didn't mind at the time because we got what we wanted but I can see where this wouldn't be great if you were devastated by the outcome.

That's sort of what DH's was like, Sue. The students got a pushpin and put it on the map where they were going. I'm pretty sure it was announced. I think there was local news media there too. It would be nice if they made it a little more private and less stressful (everyone gets an envelope at the same time and not in front of an audience). But as Kelly astutely observed, it is great initiation!

The second time we went through the match we decided there was NO WAY we were going to the lunch and just looked on-line. Good thing, because there was a horrible blizzard and we couldn't have gone any where. We were lucky to have electricity to be able to use the computer.

Good luck in the match everyone! I hope the next 2 months pass quickly for you. :chat: :walk: :m :~

[SuzySunshine]

My DH's was also an early match. He received a phone call from the chair of his new department around 11am in the morning. The bad part was that we were west coast, a lot of our top choices, including our first was farther east then us. There is a neurosurgery message board out there where people were posting their match once they got their call. I was at work, reloading that message board like every two minutes and before my DH got his call I knew that his 2nd choice was already full. Luckily he got his first, but he wouldn't tell me over the phone. I had to take a 1/2 day off to go home and find out.

At one of our friends' med schools each classmates put $1 in a jar and the envelopes are drawn out in random order, the person who is drawn last gets the money.

[DCJenn]

Thanking the stars once again that we're military! We just found out like, Hey Dude, you're going to be stationed in San Antonio. Yeah, you listed it #3, oh well, the Army wants in you in SA not Hawaii...

Whew- no drama, at all. and the secretary at the peds department in San Antonio told Rick WAY before it was official, he was there on a rotation, and she said, "looking forward to having you here next year." He called and asked me what I thought that meant (Doctors can be so obtuse sometimes) and I said, "I guess we're moving to Texas."

Now we're waiting to see where the Army has decided they need child neurologists (there are two finishing- my husband and one other guy)

Jenn

[Michele]

I think we get a phone call....but I don't actually know.

I'm actually really looking forward to it. I think there is a ceremony at DH's school, but its definitely not a mandatory thing. I guess I'm in the minority here. So far, DH hasn't interviewed at any place that I'd be disappointed to match at. Both of us are totally looking at this as an adventure, and with DD not even old enough to start school at residency's end, its perfect timing. I feel pretty lucky to be in such a situation.

[spotty_dog]

I'm going to be happy just to KNOW but all the buildup and waiting is agony. We're fortunate that DH will probably go to his first choice, and there's almost no chance he'll match as low as third on his list. That doesn't make the tension any less though -- keeping parallel scenarios in my head for different outcomes is frustrating, even if they're all good scenarios...

DH thinks they just put the envelopes on a table and you pick yours up. (And of course there's always the option just to go home and wait for your new program to contact you in congratulations!) I told him about some of these other "ceremonies" and he was horrified. (He asked me just yesterday to go ahead and figure out a way to get some time off and go across the street for the big event...)

I'm blanking on the acronym, but we found out on the website that manages the application. It was available after a certain time (11am mountain time??) on match day.