Anyone applying for a medical fellowship understands the significance of December 4, 2024. This is the day the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Fellowship Match program releases results for many specialties. It can be hard to know what to do next for applicants who haven't been matched with a fellowship, but Residents Medical offers a path forward.
A fellowship program match is one of the most pivotal moments in a physician's career, and the NRMP high-tech process is meant to ensure the match is as mutually beneficial as possible. It's true matchmaking: once physicians have applied and interviewed with different specialty programs, they submit a ranked list of their preferred fellowships. Programs do the same with their applicants, and the NRMP algorithm considers both sides' preferences while generating matches.
December 4 is a time of celebration for many, but unfortunately, not all applicants will receive the results they were hoping for. Last year, 11,853 (84.5%) of 14,034 fellowship applicants received a match, leaving more than 15% without a fellowship. For those hoping to move forward with a chosen specialty, failing to secure a match can create incredible insecurity, and some applicants might start to wonder whether they will ever be able to secure a fellowship in their preferred specialty.
Many candidates hope to apply again and secure a fellowship on the second try. However, they may not know how to improve their applications. Residents Medical is a medical school student and graduate education, preparation, and placement pathways service offering mentorship and guidance to those seeking medical residencies and fellowship opportunities.
The company was founded in 2010 by Dr. Michael Everest, and it is one of the industry's longest-running medical residency and fellowship placement services. It also offers medical student support, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Prep Services, and hands-on externships.
"At Residents Medical Group, we provide each of our students and residency/fellowship placement candidates with a comprehensive and dedicated service from start to finish," Dr. Everest explains. "Our team of specialist counselors, some of whom are MDs with years of experience, ensures that every individual receives personalized guidance and support throughout the entire process."
That kind of individualized guidance is what's behind the organization's long-running success. Dedicated counselors take the time to get to know individual applicants, help them build strong applications, and advocate for them to receive the residency and fellowship opportunities they deserve. For clients, those efforts often have life-changing results.
"A recent example that comes to mind is a U.S. medical school graduate who completed her residency but could not achieve fellowship. He did not understand the difficulty of fellowship achievement. low scores," says Dr. Everest. "However, I believed there was more to her story, so I took the time to talk to her and understand her situation better. My intuition led me to discover that she had a history of blood cancer in her family, and she was passionate about Hematology/Oncology. She was Chief Resident but could not achieve a fellowship because she was an international medical graduate. Understanding her circumstances allowed us to offer the appropriate." mentoring, preparation, and pathway.
The team lobbied for her and introduced her to the PI at her future program to do research. Residents Medical made it happen for her in a Hem/Onc Fellowship this December. Had she not come to RM and given up, she might have lost her chances of pursuing her fellowship — This student's positive outcome with Residents Medical was hardly unique — the company boasts a 97% success rate with placing its cohorts in residencies and fellowships. Dr. Everest believes that one-on-one evaluations, individualized support, and dedicated advocacy play critical roles in each RM student's journey.
"The importance of having our MD counselors who can understand and communicate the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates cannot be overstated," he says. "These advocates can bridge the gap and provide the necessary support to give students a fair chance at securing their desired residency or fellowship positions."
Ultimately, while disappointment is an understandable reaction to not receiving a fellowship match, Dr. Everest hopes that applicants can treat themselves with compassion — and seek a mentorship service that treats them in the same way. "Empathy is a powerful tool, and it can lead to remarkable transformations in the lives of those we serve," he says.
Through patience, empathy, and a belief in each student's ability to succeed, Residents Medical has helped more than 2,000 applicants successfully match with residencies and fellowships, many of these both residency and fellowship. If you're a fellowship applicant left unmatched, it might be able to help you, too.
