Rural Rounds

Perhaps the biggest event in all of medical education outside of graduation itself is match day. Match day is the day during fourth year when medical students across the country find out where they have been accepted for residency. In many ways, it is like a professional sports draft; students file past a large table of envelops to receive theirs, not knowing what residency program they've matched to until they open that powerful letter. A little background on the match process... Students initially register for the match process in their fourth years with the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAP), and through the fall and early winter of fourth year interview with the residency programs in the specialty field of their choice/interest. By early January, students begin to submit a rank list of the programs they are interested in, in order of interest. The programs that they interviewed with then submit a rank list of students they wish to accept as new medical interns. A c...