AMA guide to creating your Match rank-order list

Avoid these 4 common missteps when creating a Match rank-order list

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The Match rank-order list, due a few weeks ahead of the Match Day in March, is a critical step on the road to residency, and one that often prompts indecision among residency applicants who struggle on the order in which to list the residency programs where they will spend the next several years in training. This outstanding advice from the AMA looks at all angles of the process to help ease what can be an angst-filled time.

How to rank order your residency programs

1. Which factors do applicants weigh most when picking residency programs?

   1. Medicine is a calling, many people feel. You don’t choose it. It chooses you. As far as which programs physicians train in, that comes down to a rank-order list. What factors do medical students consider most—and least—when choosing residency programs? Data released by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) shed some light on that question.

2. What I wish I knew in medical school about Match rank-order lists

   1. Creating a Match rank-order list is about balancing competing priorities and funneling advice—solicited and unsolicited—from faculty members, peers and resident physicians. That was the case for Haidn Foster, MD, who says it is important to think long-term, know your deal-breakers and draw on the feelings you had when you interviewed with the residency program.

3. Know the do’s and don’ts for your Match rank-order list

   1. The path to putting together a successful rank-order list can be tricky. Among the do’s is to rank your first choice first. If a program thought enough of you as an applicant to interview you, then you are certainly in the running.

4. Consider these overlooked factors for your Match rankings

   1. When it comes to the Match, there are a number of factors that play into finding the right residency program from an applicant’s perspective. Some of the obvious ones include a program’s reputation and interactions with residents and faculty during the interview process. But some factors are often overlooked and should be on your radar. One of them is your nonclinical interests.

5. Match ranking advice: Trust your gut

   1. In what is inherently a stressful process, the people who have gone through it say it is essential to go with your instincts on which residency programs feel as though they would be most suitable for you to thrive in residency.

6. Weighing a rural physician residency program? 6 things to know

   1. Is a rural residency program right for you? There are definitely upsides that you might not have considered. As a learner, the chances to diversify your skill set are numerous, the cost of living is more manageable, and your ability to flexible in practice will benefit.

7. What you need to craft a successful Couples Match rank-order list

   1. Creating a Match rank-order list with a romantic partner—balancing two people’s life priorities and career goals—adds a layer of complexity to the process. Check out this step-by-step advice, which includes starting with two lists, working through misalignments and knowing which factors are non-negotiable for you as a physician couple.