Match Day is a foreign concept to a lot of people and it is actually really confusing for those of us who go through it also! This is my best explanation of what it is. Crazy people like Bill and myself decide we want to be doctors and set off on this journey that starts with 4 years of medical school. The first 2 years are mostly book learning and the second 2 years are more clinical experiences. During your 3rd year you rotate through some of the different areas of medicine and try to see what you like and what you don't like. Sometime around the end of your 3rd year and the beginning part of 4th year you have to pick what area of medicine you want to go into. Bill decided that he wanted to be a radiologist. So, the next step is to fill out an online application (ERAS or Electronic Residency Application Service). Here you put all sorts of information about yourself, your grades and scores in medical school, write a personal statement, provide your letters of recommendation, and select all of the residency programs that you would like to apply to. And people generally apply to a ton of programs!!! I have heard of people applying to over 50 places!!!!
Oh, so residency, I didn't really explain that yet. A resident is a doctor that has completed medical school and is now getting more specialized training in their area of interest. How long it lasts depends on what residency you choose. A radiology residency is 5 years. The best thing about residency is that you are finally getting paid, although it is not a lot of money, especially since you are putting in about 80 hours per week. Just a side note because this used to confuse me after watching Grey's Anatomy. An intern is just a special word for a first year resident. It took me a long time to figure that out! After you finish your residency, you can go out into the world and become an attending physician or you can pick to get even more training in a particular area and do a fellowship. Bill is thinking he wants to do a fellowship in interventional radiology. This would be an additional year of training.
So, once you have filled our your ERAS and submitted it, you wait VERY patiently for interview offers. The one thing I have learned about this process if you have to do A LOT of waiting. I think you submit your application in September and usually don't hear about any interviews until December or later. So, once you hear back from programs you schedule your interviews with them. You then interview at the schools and you check out the program as the program is checking you out. Now comes the crazy part. At the end of the interview season, each medical student and each program must compose a match list. For the student, you put down the order of which you liked the programs. Number one is the place you want to go the most and the last number is the place you want to go the least out of the programs you ranked. Only rank the programs that you would be okay going to, because it is possible to end up at any program that is on your list, or it is possible to not even match into a program at all!!! The programs then make a list of the candidates that interviewed with them, number one being the person they most want to have at their program and on down the list. Then, several months later, the Match takes place.
The Match, from what I understand, uses some sort of crazy computer program using both the student's match list and the programs match list and MATCHES each person to a program. On Match Day, which is at the same time and day all over the US, you open an envelop that tells you where you will be spending the next several years of your life. Let me tell you, this is one of the most nerve wracking days I can ever imagine. If you do not match into any program, you are notified 2 days prior to the match unveiling and you must try to "scramble" into any programs that have vacant spots. This does not seem like fun.
To make a long story short, Bill matched into the radiology program at UIC in Chicago. He really liked the program there and is excited about being in the big city in the future and closer to his family. Radiology programs are 5 years and the first year is called a transitional year and for Bill it is a preliminary internship in internal medicine. You normally go to a totally different program for this prelim year. Bill got matched to SIU!!! That means he will be with me in Springfield from June 2010 to around June 2011! We finally get to live together like a real married couple :) I am really excited about that. Then, he will leave and head to Chicago for his radiology training and I will have one year of medical school left in Springfield. Luckily, it will be during my 4th year when you can do "away rotations" at different schools to see if you like their program and you get to travel to do your different residency interviews.
All in all, we are very happy with the results and excited to see where our future takes us!!!!!
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