The Match

Good news and bad news: the good news is that I have a job next year! The bad news is that it's only guaranteed for one year. Last Monday I had the unpleasant experience of opening my email and finding that I had not matched into a surgery program--it came as a rather nasty and completely unanticipated shock. Tuesday I went to my school for the scramble--in a way I am glad that I experienced it, but I still would not wish it on my worst enemy! I and my ten fellow unmatched students, most who were handling it well, but some who had obviously been crying all night, met in a conference room and got a pep talk from our deans. They then set each of us up in a private office and provided each of us with a personal assistant to take calls and send faxes. The list of open programs (there were only two categorical surgery spots) was then released across the country at 11:30 EST, and at 12:00 we all started madly making calls and re-applying on ERAS. My advisor was there as well calling all the program directors she knew. Blessedly, this quickly ended for me when the program director of my school's program called and offered me a prelim spot, which was what I had been hoping for. I snatched it up, and now have a job, and at the program I had been hoping to get into from the start. Unfortunately this means that the next year is going to be somewhat stressful as not only will I have the responsibilities of a new physician, but I will have to try to find a place to go for the next four years (this is just one other example of the benefits of being a Calvinist--I know God's in control:). It should be interesting! Thankfully the match went well for my friends, though there were still some tears (more from weeks of pent-up emotion than actual disappointment. One bit of advice to students applying next year: do NOT believe anything programs say regarding how they plan to rank you. They are lying). Most of them ended up staying here--in fact, of the 11 students and students' spouses in my Bible study, nine will remain here.

Some of the things I am most excited about for the next year are kind of silly--I am really looking forward to shedding my short white coat. I remember at the beginning of third year how pretentious I felt wearing it, now it's just humiliating. I'm looking forward to being able to be able to sign my own orders (scared too though!). I'm looking forward to being able to tell patients I'm a doctor (I have to decide how I'm going to introduce myself--it will either be "Dr. Emlyn" or "Chris Emlyn, one of the residents". I'm just not a "Dr. Chris" kind of guy). I'm looking forward to parking in the structure and not in the lot two blocks away (5-10 more minutes to sleep each morning!). I'm looking forward to having medical students, though I kind of wish I wouldn't have them until a month or two into internship. I'm really looking forward to having a salary, though I plan to remain in my cheap apartment for a while at least.