accepting the very first offer.

[2DEG]

Hi all:

I am writing this on behalf of my sister-in-law. She just had her first interview for residency today. And within 10 minutes, they offered her a positin in internal medicine. Apparently, they offer most of the residency sits through matching and a few by themselves.

She has 5 other interviews lined up in next five weeks. So, she was wondering if she should go ahead and take the first offer.

Little background..she is a foreign medical graduate, and has greencard.

The program director will not likely give her enough time to find out about other hospitals. So..if she chooses to wait, she will loose this opportunity. And given the fact that it is very difficult for foreign grads to get residency..she is very concerned and confused.

She asked me to post this here, so that she could some good feedback from some of you.

Thanks and have a good day.
Shahab

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[Annette]

I'd be very careful about a place that wouldn't give me time to check out other places. Are they so bad that they have to prey on desparate people to fill their slots?

Your sister should talk privately with the current residents and check out scutwork.com before she says yes.

 

[Hendooneh]

Actually from what I've heard this used to be very common and this is the whole justification behind why the match was created. In fact I've heard that they used to make offers like if you sign right now today you are accepted otherwise ...

 

[ApacheIndian]

Tough situation. I think what your sister-in-law has to do before deciding is to make an honest, objective assessment of her competitiveness as an IM candidate this year. IMHO, the main factors to consider are...

Step 1 score (and # of attempts, if applicable)
Step 2 score ( " )
interviewing skills

As a foreign-born, foreign-trained physician, I don't think LoRs or Dean's letter (unless blatantly negative) make any real difference. Then, she has to subjectively evaluate how desirable this program (the one giving her the offer) is to her. At that point she has two weigh the above considerations, and decide whether she should A) politely and tactfully decline the PreMatch offer and continue on the interview trail, or B) accept it and withdraw from the Match.

In my opinion, if she's already been offered a spot, she's probably at least somewhat competitive, so I'd say she ought to hold out. She could tell the PD something like "I'm very thankful for you offering me a position, and I really find this program very attractive and I believe I'd fit in very well here, but I've already arranged 5 more interviews at other programs, for which I've already purchased travel tickets and arranged accomodations. I feel that since they extended me the courtesy of inviting me for an interview, I should at least go and meet with them before making any commitments. However, this program is a clear #1 for me right now, and I'd imagine it will stay like that when I make my ROL. Please keep me in mind when you make your list" or something to that effect. If she chooses her words right, it's likely that the PD will understand, and he'll still rank her very high come February. Besides, let's say she goes on a couple more interviews, and looking back realizes that this really was the best program for her... I'm sure that all it would take is a phone call to the PD, and she'd be able to secure that spot then too.

What follows in an exerpt from First Aid for the IMG addressing this very topic... good luck to her .

 

[ApacheIndian]

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[ApacheIndian]

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[dr. strangelove]

shahab,

if your sister-in-law is enrolled in the nrmp, then it is illegal for them to offer you a contract during your interview or anytime before the match. we just had a session about this at our medical school (university of washington) b/c last year we had several classmates offered positions on the spot. we were told to report it to our dean's office immediately. it is difficult for her as she is a foreign med grad, but i believe the rules are the same. i personally would advice her to not go to a program that would put her in that position, i wouldn't trust them. i believe there are channels that she can report this type of behavior to. i would check the nrmp or the aamc website.

 

[ApacheIndian]

Dr. Strangelove: This is actually the last year that offering Prematch contracts to IMGs will be allowed. Beginning in 2004, everyone -- IMGs included -- will be required to go through the Match.

 

[dr. strangelove]

oops, sorry about that. i thought that it had started this year.

 

[Neurogirl]

She shouldn't do it! Often, programs do this kind of thing because they're afraid of not filling or filling with less than desirable candidates. The question is...what's wrong with this program? She should politely decline the offer and go on her other interviews. Afterwards, if she decides that she likes this program the best, she could call the PD and see if the offer is still available.

 

[njdevil]

IMGs and DOs can sign with a program outside the match as "independent candidates". For example a Peds program can fill half its spots through the match and half with prematched people. The rules for next year close that loop hole...you either fill completely through the match or get all of your candidate independent of the match...there are many programs that do this in IM.