Students in US medical schools who have not matched to a
residency position will usually be notified by their Student
Affairs Deans the day before match results are announced.
Typically, Deans and clinical faculty will then work with
unmatched students to find them a position by calling residency
programs with unfilled positions as well as transmitting the
students' application documents to the programs via ERAS or fax.
By the end of the day, most, if not all, of the unmatched
students will have found positions.
Independent applicants can find out whether
they matched beginning at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) on
the NRMP website in a specific day in mid-March. Unmatched
independent applicants can access the list of unfilled programs
that is posted on the NRMP website (www.nrmp.org) at 11:30 AM EST
on the day following. At 12 noon EST on the day following that,
matched applicants can see where they matched on
the NRMP website. Unmatched applicants can also access the
unfilled position list by calling the NRMP at (202) 828-0566.
Either access method requires that the unmatched applicant supply
a Personal Identification Number (PIN) and their NRMP
identification number. The listings through either access route
allow the applicant to search unfilled programs by specialties
and locations.
Once an unmatched applicant locates specific programs with
unfilled positions that they wish to contact, they begin calling
those programs. Preparations for finding a position using the
unfilled list should include having access to at least one,
preferably two, phone lines, so that one can be talking to a
program while simultaneously faxing application information or
arrangements should be made to use ERAS to transmit these
materials. The ECFMG newsletter (free) provides specific
directions for making sure that ERAS can transmit application
materials to programs during the scramble period, so it is
important to take care of this early. Paper copies of application
documents and fax cover sheets can be prepared beforehand.
Preparing in advance allows unmatched applicants to contact as
many programs with unfilled positions as possible during this
time-sensitive post-match scramble period.
