Hi I’ve been asked by 2 different web sites ( not this one) to come up with solid stats for the Caribbean Grads so far I have found by simply looking at the NRMP data that between 2000 and 2006
Caribbean grads have matched about 53% as an average and IMG’s about 49% as an average for the first round, this does not include the scramble
US grads match about 93% the first time as an average for the first round
On a side note Canadians in 2006 Matched at about 61% first time a hugh drop of about 9%!
I will do a lot more research but this is the Difficulty most talk about. These grads from the Caribbean I have no idea of step scores and what residencies they are trying to match in? This makes a big difference and I will try to come up wit data on that.
FOr the free data go here: http://www.nrmp.org/
There is also Caribbean grads who match outside the Match and are not reported, I know some who do this and the programs are allowed to do this since the Grads are FMG’s they cannot do this with US grads, but you can become buddies with PD before the th match then rank them #1 and they should pick you up. Some Caribbean grads do this too but not a lot, too many Caribbean grads have no idea how to do this and I suspect thats part of the problem too.
What’s a scramble?
its for those who did not match, they then go in the post match “Scramble” to get a residency. LOL yeah I love that term…I wantem scrambled.
“scramble” is what happens to med students who don’t get spots in the residency match. Oh man explaining the match… OK I will try.
Fourth year med students in the U.S. (both allo and osteo) interview at residency programs, following which they rank their programs in order of preference. At the same time, the programs rank the applicants. Then the two lists are compared and “matched” via computer with a goal of giving both programs and applicants their highest possible choices. If you (an applicant) don’t rank a program, it doesn’t matter if they put you at the top of their list - you won’t go there. Similarly, if you think a program is great but they found you appalling, and don’t rank you, you won’t get into that program.
Students who don’t get a position in the Match, and programs who don’t fill all their residency slots in the Match, then “scramble” for the remaining slots. I am sorry to say that Family Medicine in recent years has been increasingly unpopular with US grads, and fewer people rank FM than there are positions - so there are always FM spots available to scramble into.
Not every 4th-year student must scramble to get a position. It used to be that DO students could be offered allo program positions outside the match - not sure if this is still the case. Foreign grads can get positions outside the match; there are a lot of ins & outs to this that I won’t attempt to explain since it’s not familiar to me. But in general, 4th-year US students should expect to participate in the Match.
Scrambling is a hair-raising experience, because basically you’ve got a long-distance version of everyone pushing and shoving to get onto a crowded train.
Hope that helps.
Mary
Thanks Dr. Renard, ( I love the POT 'o Gold you have)
Yeah like the stats show very few do not match that are US grads that is why it is way better to stay in the US for Medical school.
Caribbean is only after that is not possible I hope my research shows a little better then the 53% match rate but to be honest I do not expect the rate to be more than 5 to 10% higher max with the residencies out of the match data and the post match data for the Caribbean grads so at best I think maybe only 60% get resdencies in any given year, of course this 60% number is my guess and I need to continue to research it it may be lower or higher but I really do not expect higher.
I will post what I find out for all of us.
Thanks, Mary. Does one need to be a number one Match to get a position (meaning, does both the student and institution have to be an exact match)? I’ve looked through some hospitals that offer maybe 5 slots (just a number I picked out of my head), would that mean if the hospital put you as anyone of them, and you have them as one of your 5 program choices, you have a shot of getting it.
BTW, Mary…I look at your life story and seeing that you graduated Med School at 48 (which will be around the age I will be when I finish), it gives me hope.
Krisss17
PS, Bill, sorry about hijacking your thread.
NO problem a good question, What I understand is you rank 3 programs and if you are picked up by only number three thats the one you are matched with, if you are wanted by #1 and #3, the #1 on your list is who you are matched to, if I’m wrong Mary will tell Us I think?
Makes sense…thanks, Bill.
http://www.kaptest.com/Kaplan/5/Medical_Lice nsing/…
http://www.nrmp.org/res_match/special_par t/ind_app…
These two links help explain the match too.
You can rank a large number of programs, as many as you interview. Quite a few people submit ten rankings. The institutions rank their interviewees and the interviewees rank the institutions, and then a complicated computer program runs algorithms to try to get the maximum number of participants the highest-ranked choice possible. It seems the vast majority of people get something in their top 3 unless they are in a super-competitive field like dermatology or something.
Attrition rates in the Caribbean, well yes it is high but remember the 20 to 30% is due to some students are not really cut out for medicine, Its the students not the schools…
thanks CROOOZ I scanned it and yeah it helps and I will analyze it after my exams.
OK I looked at the stats and it’s like this for FMG’s they Match the 1st time about 53%
Now the stats Croooze showed me were in Bar form so I basically rounded them out to approximates as below:
The 2005 results for FMG/IMG 1st ranked Matches was ( for those who matched):
Internal Med and Peds about 68%
Peds 64%
Family Med 59%
Rehab 58%
Internal 58%
EM 58%
Anesthesia 57%
OB GYN 56%
PSYCH 52%
Radiology 50%
Pathology 48%
General Surgery 39%
Derm 38%
Plastics 32%
Rads Onc 30%
and Ortho about 30%
These are the 1st ranked Matches not the ranks after that and not the scramble and no prematches of course.
This tells me that the matches do happen at the Competitive residencies and that they are harder as we say but this puts some real numbers in front of us and it’s not even as bad as I thought.
Caribbean students matched 50.6% 2006 and 50% 2007 in the NRMP Match 1st round no great change over all still looks like in the 60% range counting outside matches
Not to offend but a 60% match rate is pretty piss poor. So out a class of 100, 60 will get something and the others what?
No offense thats not for my school thats for all the FMG’s in the match
As far as the stats I see it as the system works you are assuming that all the grads are qualified, I can tell you I know some that are not, some do not match for very good reasons…
Oh, okay. I was assuming all grads qualified. I didn’t think they would include grads that aren’t qualified. Ass-u-ME!
Hey Crooz, there’s qualified and then there’s “qualified.” Someone may have gone through all the required hoops so that on paper they are qualified, but then you meet them and they’re … well, doctoring is a field where in most specialties they put a premium on being able to communicate, okay? And some folks can do okay at communicating on paper but not so much in person. I’ll leave it at that 
Mary
Thanks Mary It’s the down side of the Caribbean and gives it the Bad rep…the ones who make it that far and still are going to to have great difficulties…lets leave it at that. 