Session 30 This week, we're doing a deep dive into the 2017 Ophthalmology Match Summary Report which is actually outside the NRMP match. The match is the program you apply to while in your medical school to determine where you're going to do your residency. The people that made the algorithm actually won a Nobel Prize for it and it's used in a lot of different things now other than the match. However, not every specialty participates in the main ERAS match which stands for Electronic Residency Application Service put on by the NRMP (National Resident Matching Program). Most specialties are part of the main match so when you hear "The Match," this is what most people are talking about. Today, we're covering Ophthalmology, the rare exception that does not participate in the normal match but it's done by the SFMatch system. While normal medical student match for their specialties in march, students applying for Ophthalmology match in January. [03:30] Spots Offered, Filled, and Left Looking at Page 2 of the Ophthalmology Match Summary Report 2017, they have data going all the way back to 2008 so it's nice to see a ten-year data for matching. In 2008, there were 454 spots offered and 468 in 2017. It hasn't been growing a ton and what's interesting is the number of spots left open after the match which is 1 in 2008 and 6 in 2017. Ophthalmology is typically one of those residency matches that are very competitive and the fact here are 6 left. "Keep that in mind when you are applying for other residency programs that the match data the NRMP gives out shows that those that don't match are typically not ranking enough programs." As for Ophthalmology, there are 6 spots left probably because students weren't applying broadly enough. Everybody wants to be in New York or California and nobody things about the "flyover" states in the middle of the country. If you are flexible, this is a big opportunity for you to look at those other options as well. [05:35] Means for Matched and Unmatched The matched mean for 2017 was 243, which is a very high number, and the unmatched mean is 227. Once you're in medical school, you know that the MCAT and GPA are important but usually, a strong application can help overcome some deficiencies in some areas. But this is one of the unfortunate things with the match is that when it comes to matching. "Your Step 1 score or COMLEX Level 1 score for DO's is basically it. It's a huge part of your application and it's what opens the doors for you for these competitive residencies." [06:50] Allopathic and Osteopathic Students Still found on Page 2 of the data, the U.S. Allopathic Seniors made up 80% of those that matched in Ophthalmology. U.S. Allopathic Graduates were 7%. So 87% of all the physicians that matched were from U.S. MD schools. 4% were from osteopathic schools. "For you DO's out there, it's a slimmer chance but there is the opportunity." You can't just base on this data to say that you're not going to a DO school because that's not always the case. This doesn't mean you shouldn't go to an osteopathic school. It just means it's going to be harder for you to go into ophthalmology if you go to a DO school. There could be a number of reasons why it's harder. Probably it's because you don't have exposure to academic medical center where most of these ophthalmology residencies may be. So you're not getting the exposure MD students are going to get. Or it could be because you need to travel around a bit for your clinical rotations so it's harder to build relationships with program directors and get that experience and research. So if you're in a DO school, don't give up on being an ophthalmologist. Just think through what else you may need to do. [09:10] U.S. Allopathic and Osteopathic Seniors and Graduates Looking at Page 3 of the data, 26% of U.S. Osteopathic Seniors matched. It's interesting to note that while 34 registered for the match, only 19 participated in the match and 5 of those matched. Comparing t