The Timeline:
1. Medical School: 4 years long
2. Medical Residency: 3 - 7 years long. For Mr. Snoop it will be 5 years. This is where you train in your specialty.
3. Fellowship: Optional additional, specialized training. 1 - 3 years long.
4. Medical training is finally over!
Since Mr. Snoop is in his 4th year of medical school, he is in the process of applying to residency. He would like match in ENT; aka Ear, Nose and Throat; aka Otolaryngology. Matching is the term for, you guessed it, matching up a student with a residency. My overview will be specialty-specific. Other specialties would be slightly different.
Let the Great Analogy of Residency Application Process as Rush begin!
Oh yes. Yes, I did.
1--Applications
The first step in applying for residency is like the first Rush party. The students turn in their applications. They can apply to as many programs as they want. Everyone's invited! Including all the weirdos! Mr. Snoop is applying to 55 programs. This is because his specialty is super competitive: each of the >100 programs in the US only has 2 or 3 spots, on average. In other specialties, hundreds of programs might have 15 or more spots. Hence the reason he has to apply so broadly. Applications are in a common ap format online, and he will turn them in this Friday. Yep, he's a rushee!
2--Interviews
The second step, the interview, is like the second or third Rush party. Programs make cuts: not all rushees are invited back. Residency programs invite a number of students back for an in-person interview. For Mr. Snoop's specialty of choice, interviews take place in December and January. For other specialties, the lucky ducks, this happens sooner. Out of the 55 programs to which Mr. Snoop has applied, he would be over the moon if he got 10 interviews. Yes, yikes, it's crazy out there.
3--Rank List
The third step happens in late February, when the med students, you guessed it, rank their top 15 programs. They can only rank the programs where they have interviewed, in the same way that for Rush you can only rank the houses that have invited you back. Meanwhile, residency programs rank their candidates (and the houses rank the rushees). Like in Rush, a computer algorithm matches the candidates and the programs.
If only Match Week involved matching (haha!) outfits.
4--Match Week
Match Week is the second week of March. On that Monday, students learn IF they have matched. So on March 11, 2013, Mr. Snoop will learn if he matched in his specialty. Students who fail to match take the next 3 days to "scramble," which is exactly what it sounds like: they scramble to fill any random open residency position in any specialty. This is very scary to me. Then on Friday, March 15, the students gather at their med schools and receive an envelope. This tells them to which program they will go for their residency. Just as in Rush, you must go to the place where you have matched. Unfortunately, there is no Pref Night and no mad run for the sorority houses in Match Week. I know, what's even the point?
5--Graduate And Begin Residency
Mr. Snoop graduates in late May. Residencies begin anywhere from June 1 - July 1, depending on the program.
Did you make it? Phew, I know. And even though y'all know Mr. Snoop's real name, now you have probably figured out why I keep him anonymous on here.
As far as where specifically Mr. Snoop is applying, the best I can tell you is to sing the "50 Nifty United States." While of course there are certain areas where we would both prefer to go, the fact of the matter is his speciality is so competitive that we will be thrilled for him to match anywhere!
