Competitive couples match in ortho or any other competitive spec.

[midwestortho]

Anyone have any recommendation on couples matching into two competitive specialties. I am applying for ortho this upcoming cycle and my SO will be applying plastics. We are both from a midtier Midwest prog.

Has anyone ever had success matching into two competitive specialties I.E. ortho derm plastics ent radonc optho uro?

Is it better to rank separately without notifying the programs? Rank couples matching in ERAS Only, or notify programs?

Also is it better to do aways at the same place?

Thanks for the help

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[gutonc]

I'm going to just assume that you are both US MD students at a Top 10 school, have 260+ on both steps, passed CS before you even started med school and each have 6 first author pubs in your respective specialties. Because, unless that's the case, this is going to be a rough year for you.

As with all couples matchers, you need to determine how to rank the following scenarios before determining how to apply/rank programs:
1. Match preferred specialties together
2. Match preferred specialties
3. Match together
4. Match at all

Start with applying broadly (geographically and otherwise, although the idea of a "low-tier" integrated plastics program is laughable). You should both apply in every city/state where both ortho and integrated plastics residencies exist. Each of you should also put in a dozen or so (where "so" = 3 dozen) Gen Surg apps and then see what happens.

Once you've each gotten 10+ specialty-specific interviews, come back and ask about the ranking strategy.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

There is no reason not to use the NRMP couple's match. It allows you to control the match such that you stay together if you want. It's your choice whether you tell programs whether you are couple's matching or not (i.e. in ERAS). There's pluses and minuses to that -- the plus is that it's possible that a competitive candidate to one program could pull an interview for a borderline candidate for the other. The negative is that some programs might decline to interview you at all because a plastics/ortho couple's match is tough, or a weak candidate could cost a strong candidate an interview -- not a problem if you've decided that being together is more important than which programs your in.

As @gutonc has mentioned above, it's critical to assess how competitive each of you are independently. If you're both very competitive, then announcing that you're couple's matching is probably a win. If one of you is weak/borderline, then it's probably a lose.

In no case is not couple's matching better than couple's matching -- other than the case where you don't care if you're together or not.

 

[Raryn]

If you rank every possible combination of seats, there is never a mathematical disadvantage to your match chances if you choose to couples match. That is, ranking all combinations of:

1) You and your partner both in preferred programs close together
2) You OR your partner in preferred program, but not both, close together
3) You and your partner close together, but not in preferred programs
4) You and your partner far apart in non-preferred programs.
5) You matched and your partner not matched, or vice versa

in the order of your preference. You sit down and make the hard choices ahead of time over which combinations you prefer, and which compromises you find least unpleasant. There's lots of other threads in this forum (at least 3-4 of which I've personally contributed to) that go into detail on how to go about ranking.

Not couples matching can *never* be advantageous to couples matching assuming you rank all the combinations, and it will just lead to gambling over which compromises will happen.

 

[Mountaineer12]

Like Raryn said you just need list every single combination. It's a lot of work and gets super confusing when putting it all into NRMP, but eliminates the risk of couple's matching. My SO actually had to SOAP this year so my #1 piece of advice is to ALWAYS list the you match/they don't match and vice versa combinations because you never know.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[akwho]

I know three successful ortho-ortho couples matches, and a successful ortho-PRS match all top applicants accepted to great programs. I think couples match ortho-PRS actually helps if you are both studs as programs will recruit you as a pair. If one you drags down the other though you can fall quite dramatically. All the ortho-ortho couples matches matched to programs in the same city/area, none matched to the same single program. The odds of getting a single program to take you both wouldn't be high due to disrupting intra-residency dynamics.

 

[midwestortho]

If you rank every possible combination of seats, there is never a mathematical disadvantage to your match chances if you choose to couples match. That is, ranking all combinations of:

1) You and your partner both in preferred programs close together
2) You OR your partner in preferred program, but not both, close together
3) You and your partner close together, but not in preferred programs
4) You and your partner far apart in non-preferred programs.
5) You matched and your partner not matched, or vice versa

in the order of your preference. You sit down and make the hard choices ahead of time over which combinations you prefer, and which compromises you find least unpleasant. There's lots of other threads in this forum (at least 3-4 of which I've personally contributed to) that go into detail on how to go about ranking.

Not couples matching can *never* be advantageous to couples matching assuming you rank all the combinations, and it will just lead to gambling over which compromises will happen.

So is it better to couples match on the match only and NOT let the residency PDs know due to fact they might not interview 2 applicants going for competitive specialties? Or is it better to let them know and use it to our advantage for having one PD talk with the other?

 

[gutonc]

So is it better to couples match on the match only and NOT let the residency PDs know due to fact they might not interview 2 applicants going for competitive specialties? Or is it better to let them know and use it to our advantage for having one PD talk with the other?

Definitely.

(NB: There's no right answer to this question)

 

[Raryn]

So is it better to couples match on the match only and NOT let the residency PDs know due to fact they might not interview 2 applicants going for competitive specialties? Or is it better to let them know and use it to our advantage for having one PD talk with the other?

Good question. Ask three PDs and get four answers.

 

[DokterMom]

Bottom line, if a program really likes one of you, they might pull some minor strings to get the other one looked at.

I'm thinking (more accurately, speculating) that it might make sense for you two to aim for aways in the same cities but at different programs, then make an effort to introduce your S.O.s if things appear to be going really well. That way, you get double the exposure --