MatchDay2016 Countdown: Staff Care's Guide to Residency Match Week 2016
As the nation's medical schools and residency programs are acutely aware, Match Day 2016 is next week. But that's just the concluding day of a many-tiered, week-long matching process, known as Match Week 2016, where the nation's doctors-in-training mark the culmination of their post-medical-school graduate training by being matched with residency program selections.
Organized by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), Match Week 2016 begins on Monday, March 14, and, in addition to the tiered residency matching and acceptance process, also includes five rounds of Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program® (SOAP®) matching to help ensure as many of the nation's residency needs are filled as possible.
As per the NRMP's official schedule, the entire week's activities are as outlined below. You can also download the NRMP's Match Week schedule here, and get the SOAP toolkit here.
2016 Residency Match Week And SOAP Schedule
Day 1: Monday, March 14
Applicants learn whether they've been matched.
Schools can view a report of unmatched applicants.
Program directors and coordinators learn whether their programs have been filled
SOAP begins, granting eligible unmatched and partially matched applicants with access to the "List of Unfilled Programs." Programs can begin viewing SOAP applications later that afternoon.
Day 2: Tuesday, March 15
Programs can begin creating SOAP preference lists.
Day 3: Wednesday, March 16
SOAP preference list certification deadline for Round 1 SOAP due from programs.
Applicants begin receiving electronic SOAP Round1 offers, with a deadline to accept by mid-afternoon.
Round 2 of SOAP begins that afternoon.
Day 4: Thursday, March 17
Schools/programs/institutions can view Confidential Advance Data Tables; schools can view confidential Match results reports and print Match notification letters.
SOAP Round 3 concludes; SOAP Round 4 and Round 5 begin at noon, with the SOAP program concluding by 5pm Eastern time.
In the evening, programs may begin creating positions for partially-matched applicants. (Unfilled programs are manually updated through May 1.)
SOAP-ineligible applicants who are unmatched or partially matched can now access "List of Unfilled Programs" and contact programs not participating in SOAP.
Day 5: Friday, March 18: Match Day 2016!
Applicants will learn the location of their matched programs, and programs can view Match Results by Ranked Applicant and SOAP Results by Preferred Applicant reports.
"Match Outcome for All Programs by State" report available to all participants.
Match Day is not only the culmination of a week of intense matching activity, but, for many medical students, it's the beginning of a long and rewarding career as a practicing physician. And Staff Care is dedicated to helping you have all the career tools you need to achieve your ideal career. Our New Physician Program offers resources and tools for residents and fellows, as well as career advice and guidance for new physicians are designed to give you residents and fellows everything they need to succeed in a competitive workforce.
