Family Medicine Residency Selection & Career Advising
What To Do If Your Program Doesn't Fill

Program Match results will be posted to the NRMP Web site at 8:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday March 16th. Programs that didn't fill should receive an email telling them of the number of openings they have. If you don't fill, you may call me (206/543-9425) at this time if you want to consider any unmatched UW students. We won't know about your opening(s) until 9 a.m. or later unless you contact us. Starting at 9 a.m., you may speak with the students directly. They will be available at the above phone number.

Some tips:

1. HAVE A PLAN. Do you want to scramble? Some programs choose not to fill one or more openings. If you do want to fill one or more openings, remember that there will be a lot more programs looking for residents than vice versa. The "pickings" get slimmer and slimmer as the day wears on, so advanced preparation is essential.

2. To confirm your program's status, you may want to have the NRMP Web site book-marked ahead of time (https://services.nrmp.org/R3/Home/Login/Login.cfm). Do NOT try to log-on before 8:30: if you do, the information you want will not be accessible and you will have to get out and log on again (possibly with difficulty). Call (206) 543-9425 as soon as you know you have openings.

3. The vast majority of calls/FAXes you get will be from foreign medical graduates. If you decide to consider FMGs you should determine your criteria ahead of time. For example, you may want to look at only recent graduates (i.e. within the past two or three years). Where have they trained? How compatible was their medical training with ours? Are there language barriers?

4. Try to have some of your residents available to call their alma maters. They can let the school know of your opening(s) and talk with any interested students. This personal touch is VERY effective. A good strategy would be for them to call their old Department the previous week to determine how best to contact the person in charge of working with any unmatched students.

You may also want to call Anita Taylor at Oregon Health Sciences University (503) 494-6618 see if they have any unmatched students (they often want to stay in the region).

5. Have a designated FAX line (preferably DIFFERENT from any published lines) for receiving student credentials. We often "borrow" a FAX down the hall because ours gets jammed. You can expect a HUGE barrage of unsolicited calls and FAXes. Unfilled programs in previous years have had as many as 3 people spend all day just fielding phone inquiries. FAX machines also overload with unsolicited credentials and keep going well into the evening.

6. Designate one or more unpublished phone lines for talking to students you want to consider; cell phones are helpful.

7. Be clear about who will make decisions in offering a position to a candidate. Make sure these decision-makers are on site and free of other responsibilities. Things move FAST. Students generally accept the first reasonable offer they get, so you can’t count on a student still being available if you take too much time or try to bring too many people in on the decision.

8. Have a contract you can FAX to a student for a signature. Verbal commitments don't always "stick." Also have brochures, residents available as informational resources.

9. Get the home/work phone, pager, FAX, and/or cell phone numbers of any student you pick up for follow-up purposes.

10. FindAResident is an AAMC affiliated program that helps medical students and residency programs find candidates year-round. Residency programs can advertise their open positions on the FindAResident service and can use the database to search and contact unmatched students or residents looking for a new residency. The cost to register with the service is $30 for programs that use the ERAS service. The subscription needs to be renewed after August 15 of every year.

Finally, be sensitive to the stress that "scrambling" puts on everyone. Support staff as well as you, your faculty & residents may feel responsible for lost opportunities and express it with short tempers. Remember to be appreciative of everyone and their efforts.

Contact us at any time if you have questions. Good luck!

Amanda Keerbs, M.D., M.S.H.S.
Family Medicine Career Advising Program
(206) 543-9425
akeerbs@fammed.washington.edu