"We regret to inform you that you did not match": Reflections on how to improve the match experience

Abstract

Background: With the increasing awareness and action amongst stakeholders in addressing the concerning rise of unmatched Canadian Medical Graduates (CMGs), little is known from those who go unmatched. We use our unmatched experience to contribute to this dialogue.
 Methods: We present an issues-based examination of the matching process by reflecting on the pre- and post-match period, providing suggestions related to the Canadian context from the unmatched perspective. 
 Results: The challenge in the pre-match period was handling uncertainty in elective scheduling. This uncertainty was largely manifested from not knowing elective availability at the time of elective application submission, as well as not knowing what “strategy” we should follow in how to structure our elective schedule. For the post-matched period, we were challenged by making decisions during a time-sensitive period, deciding on career issues like scheduling post-match electives, handling our finances, and trying to improve our future residency applications without feedback.
 Conclusion: Providing a real-time document of elective availability, providing focused feedback from our residency applications, and implementing and expanding upon extended curriculums for all medical schools to continue CMG training for their unmatched students for upcoming match cycles would greatly improve the unmatched experience.

Journey of candidates who were unmatched in the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS): A phenomenological study

“…Some of these sentiments were also shared in the published personal experiences of Smith and Dunkley, 9 , 11 while others described shame that was echoed by some of our participants. 20 Our study participants further shared how these emotions contributed to their sense of isolation and loneliness. The universal experience of grief, stress, and emotional turmoil that the participants described and shared in this study, under no uncertain terms, should raise alarm bells to medical educators and point to the urgent need of support for unmatched candidates.…”

“…Collective experiences of unmatched candidates in the first iteration of their CaRMS match had not been previously described and explored; there have been a few prior blog posts from individuals about their personal unmatched experiences, [9][10][11][12] and a recent narrative analysis. 20 Our results suggest that while individual circumstances and outcomes differed amongst candidates who went unmatched in the first iteration of their CaRMS match, universally, they described an uphill battle of isolation, stigma, grief, and uncertainty. Some of these sentiments were also shared in the published personal experiences of Smith and Dunkley, 9,11 while others described shame that was echoed by some of our participants.…”

Design thinking sprints as a facilitation process to enact change in the residency match process and beyond

“…1 Discussions from residency match stakeholders regarding the need to improve residency selection processes had been ongoing for several years. [2][3][4][5][6] The COVID-19 pandemic substantially accelerated pressures that had been building in recent years to disrupt the Canadian R1 residency matching process. In response to the unprecedented need to quickly transition to virtual interviews and cancel visiting electives for the 2021 learner cohort, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC), led an urgent, collaborative change management process.…”

Postgraduate medical education selection in Canada: Opening the black box

“…After going unmatched, the authors discussed the issues they faced, and offered suggestions that would have improved their experience. 9 The papers also cover new trends that should be concern for those working to improve the selection system. In "Canadians studying medicine abroad and their journey to secure postgraduate training in Canada or the United States", Ilona Bartman and team track the percentage of Canadians studying abroad (CSAs) that are successful in securing residency training in either Canada or the U.S. in order to provide guiding information for Canadians who are considering studying abroad.…”

“…After going unmatched, the authors discussed the issues they faced, and offered suggestions that would have improved their experience. 9 …”