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Countdown to Match Day


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1 hour ago, PhD2MD said:

Possibly haha...but I doubt there is anyone manually inputting any codes or doing anything, it's likely all automated.

Most likely just automatically takes the data that's input to their website from all parties and runs it thru the same code every year. There probably isn't anything to "double check". Although perhaps they give themselves this time to do a couple manual simulations just to be able to tell everyone that they do QC lol and therefore are worth the many millions they make every year.

by now the code is stabilized :) Still I am sure they are doing some from of spot checks just to make sure nothing goes off the rails - small price to pay, big impact if wrong etc. 

the algorithm is not that hard to code anyway. 

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12 hours ago, jigglypuff said:

I really don't get why we have a 2-week window between submitting the ROL and finding out the match results. Pure torture. 

 

im guessing it has more to do with compiling/finalizing those fancy match reports that takes 2 weeks, not the actual algorithim running. But then they could just tell us our match result and then get the reports 2 weeks later, im sure no one would care lol

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14 minutes ago, beeboop said:

im guessing it has more to do with compiling/finalizing those fancy match reports that takes 2 weeks, not the actual algorithim running. But then they could just tell us our match result and then get the reports 2 weeks later, im sure no one would care lol

Agreed. In the grand scheme of things though, these 2 weeks really don't matter.

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On 2/12/2019 at 8:16 AM, rmorelan said:

more than focus though - I mean schools often have a LOT of support set up in advance for people that don't match because it is just such a blow. Having people randomly finding out the they didn't match all over the place can be difficult. That is of course highly variable but that was one of the reasons the schools wanted to control it. 

Plus you really cannot plan much until you know what is left over and the ideally when your school gears up to help you. 

No perfect answers of course. 

*most schools, not all.

Talking to colleagues who went unmatched last year, the advice was pretty generic most senior users of PM101 could provide. "Apply broadly in round 2, lets get you conected with a masters program, next year make sure you also apply to FM/IM too".

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2 hours ago, beeboop said:

im guessing it has more to do with compiling/finalizing those fancy match reports that takes 2 weeks, not the actual algorithim running. But then they could just tell us our match result and then get the reports 2 weeks later, im sure no one would care lol

According to the CaRMS website, it's similar to what rmorelan said, the results are audited prior to public release: 

"Match results are audited prior to public release and verified as a stable match outcome by both CaRMS and the National Matching Service. For more information please refer to: https://www.carms.ca/en/residency/match-algorithm/https://carms.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004239246-How-does-CaRMS-audit-the-match-results-

 

1 hour ago, JohnGrisham said:

*most schools, not all.

Talking to colleagues who went unmatched last year, the advice was pretty generic most senior users of PM101 could provide. "Apply broadly in round 2, lets get you conected with a masters program, next year make sure you also apply to FM/IM too".

I suspect (and hope) schools prepare for more than career planning support. They probably also mobilize mental health and emotional well being support for students who did not match and for those who may have matched to a program very low on their rank list.

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11 minutes ago, PurpleS said:

According to the CaRMS website, it's similar to what rmorelan said, the results are audited prior to public release: 

"Match results are audited prior to public release and verified as a stable match outcome by both CaRMS and the National Matching Service. For more information please refer to: https://www.carms.ca/en/residency/match-algorithm/

Makes sense. Thanks!

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2 hours ago, JohnGrisham said:

*most schools, not all.

Talking to colleagues who went unmatched last year, the advice was pretty generic most senior users of PM101 could provide. "Apply broadly in round 2, lets get you conected with a masters program, next year make sure you also apply to FM/IM too".

I guess that is where the often term gets thrown in - and any school at this point that doesn't have a proper post carms recovery plan for those that didn't match is doing a disservice both to the student and to the school (as their reputation is on the line). 

The advice is probably not going to be much different that you state above - but it is time to bring out the big guns and try to make sure nothing is going off the rails in the application etc. Plus what if that person really doesn't want to apply to those other things - you can wash your hands of them but that again seems ill advised. 

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3 hours ago, PurpleS said:

According to the CaRMS website, it's similar to what rmorelan said, the results are audited prior to public release: 

"Match results are audited prior to public release and verified as a stable match outcome by both CaRMS and the National Matching Service. For more information please refer to: https://www.carms.ca/en/residency/match-algorithm/https://carms.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004239246-How-does-CaRMS-audit-the-match-results-

Probably don't want to fuck it up like the Royal College did 5-10 years ago. Messed up results algorithm made it a terrible day (bunch of psych residents got told they failed when they actually passed and some got told they passed when they actually failed).

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24 minutes ago, NLengr said:

Probably don't want to fuck it up like the Royal College did 5-10 years ago. Messed up results algorithm made it a terrible day (bunch of psych residents got told they failed when they actually passed and some got told they passed when they actually failed).

oh yeah that disaster. Unimaginable pain and suffering all around. Particularly because it was pysch where a lot of people don't do fellowships - failing the exam has immediate issue with finding employment. 

I can see the office assistant flipping the excel columns. Not good. They are way more paranoid since - with the downside that we have to wait in comparison ages now to get the results. 

 

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5 hours ago, NLengr said:

Probably don't want to fuck it up like the Royal College did 5-10 years ago. Messed up results algorithm made it a terrible day (bunch of psych residents got told they failed when they actually passed and some got told they passed when they actually failed).

There are many places in the system where failures can happen. CaRMS is one of them, but it sounds like they have lots of checks and balances... I wonder if any programs have accidentally submitted their own rank order lists in the wrong order. They rank a lot more people than applicants do... dozens or even hundreds of people. Have they ever gotten the order reversed, or maybe cut and paste one chunk of applicants into the wrong position? We would probably never know. But it's just one more way CaRMS is a black box.

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6 hours ago, shematoma said:

There are many places in the system where failures can happen. CaRMS is one of them, but it sounds like they have lots of checks and balances... I wonder if any programs have accidentally submitted their own rank order lists in the wrong order. They rank a lot more people than applicants do... dozens or even hundreds of people. Have they ever gotten the order reversed, or maybe cut and paste one chunk of applicants into the wrong position? We would probably never know. But it's just one more way CaRMS is a black box.

I'm sure programs are just as thorough in checking their rank lists before they submit them as we are (I went through mine approximately 350 times, lol). 

At the end of the day, anything is possible I suppose, but TBH if that did happen you are right we would probably never hear about it. No program is going to want to alienate all of their new residents by letting them all know they matched there by accident. 

There are a lot of places along the way where failures can happen, but it helps that most, if not all, if the parties have a similar goal. Both programs and residents want to ensure there is a good fit and CaRMS wants to keep raking in an offensive amount of money every year by facilitating that process.

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On 2/14/2019 at 12:31 PM, JohnGrisham said:

*most schools, not all.

Talking to colleagues who went unmatched last year, the advice was pretty generic most senior users of PM101 could provide. "Apply broadly in round 2, lets get you conected with a masters program, next year make sure you also apply to FM/IM too".

A friend of mine went unmatched last year and most of the advice from the college was "apply to FM". They applied to Rads and although got a good number of interviews...I wonder how friendly more competitive specialty programs (or programs in general) view unmatched students.

A few years ago I knew someone who asked CaRMS for other kinds of data - gender and ethnicity variability amongst specialties across Canada. They were wondering whether the algorithm somehow helped programs appear to fulfill an unspoken 'variety quota' - a good mix of female:male and/or different ethnicities. CaRMS didn't reply but I wonder. 

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On 2/14/2019 at 12:10 PM, PurpleS said:

suspect (and hope) schools prepare for more than career planning support. They probably also mobilize mental health and emotional well being support for students who did not match and for those who may have matched to a program very low on their rank list

If you're school does that, then kudos!! Definitely not all schools do. Some schools dont even do that for students who come across serious mental illness or grief during medical school other than telling them to take time off or dis-enroll.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/24/2019 at 12:41 PM, beeboop said:

OH SHIT unmatch day is tomorrow, good luck everyone GG hopefully no re for anyone

Yeah I ended up opting out for that! Wonder how it goes and whether it helps people or just adds more stress and a anxiety. 

Less than 24 h to go! I hope we get good news tomorrow! Good luck guys! 

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It's a little earlier than it was for me two years ago. I well remember the intense anxiety and the perception that time truly can appear to slow down. This is a massive moment for everyone, the fruit of years of effort. Best of luck to all candidates and I hope your outcomes meet your expectations. To those of you who match to Toronto psychiatry I look forward to working with you in the future. It is an unbelievably intense moment with outcomes that may send you over the moon or shatter your hopes of any future happiness. In my experience the vast majority of applicants end up satisfied even if they don't get their first choice.  There is probably little anyone can say in this moment that will assist with alleviating the anxiety around this often life changing outcome. Best of luck! 

Edited by Leon
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