We are officially down to 1 week before Match Day is finally here! I know many of you are not familiar with the matching process, so I thought I would try to sum up here what we are to expect next week.
The Match week begins on Monday, March 14th at 12 noon, which is when we will receive notification of Aaron's matching status...that is, "yes! you matched..." or "no, I'm sorry you didn't match..." Lord willing, we will receive good news and are then able to kick back, relax, and enjoy the rest of the week!...almost. That is also about the time that you realize that the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) is now keeping a treasured secret. It is such a tease to find out you matched on Monday, and then have to wait until Thursday to find out where!
For those students who don't match, Tuesday-Thursday will be a hectic week of "scrambling"; this is maybe somewhat of a euphemism for the chaos of calling programs across the nation and applying for any residency positions that remain unfilled. Still, a student who manages to secure a residency position this way is still better off than those students who end up without.
And then Thursday finally arrives! Almost 4 years of medical school (and 4 years of undergrad...and well, the culmination of all other life experiences) gets you to this point...you are in the final stretch to become a Doctor, you matched, and now you will find out where you will spend the next several years transforming into an incredible physician. For us, we will find out the result in the Match Day Ceremony (the theme this year: super heroes!). Once the ceremony "welcomings" have concluded, a faculty member will begin randomly calling out the names of the 4th year students who matched. When their name is called, each student will come to the stage, accept an envelope with their name on it, and place $1 in a bowl (to be claimed by the student who's name is called last). Inside the envelope will be the name of a single institution- the location of your residency! Some students choose to open their envelope and read its contents allowed on stage; others will take their envelope back to their seats and open it with their families and friends; even still, others will accept their envelope, walk the aisle to the back of the auditorium, exit through the double doors, proceed outside and around the building and enter it in secret. What do you think will Aaron do?!
By 1 pm on March 17th, the uncertainty will be gone...to an extent. It is going to be like opening the "residency" can of worms. Many more questions will remain unanswered: will Aaron like who he works with? will I be able to find a job? where will we live?...and Aaron's favorite: what kind of surgical loupes should I get? :) Of course, there will finally be some relief in knowing where we will spend the next five years together.
Thank you, Lord, for bringing us to this point, through the challenges of medical school, interviewing, and matching. I pray ever still that you would be our foundation and our solid rock through the transitions to come, and that we will trust you completely. I pray for all those students matching this year, that your will be done! May you grant us peace, comfort, and confidence as Match Day approaches.
Tune in Monday for an update on our matching status!
Love,
Anna
Are you interested in knowing more about how the Match Algorithm works? Check out the NRMP's website: http://www.nrmp.org/res_match/about_res/algorithms.html
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