Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug;13(4):561-568.
doi: 10.4300/JGME-D-20-01231.1. Epub 2021 Aug 13.

A Transitional Year Residency Program Provides Innovative Solutions for Unmatched Medical Students

Molly M Gathright  1   2 , Jennifer Hankins  1   3 , Mohammad Zia Siddiqui  1   4 , Carol R Thrush  1   5 , Tim Atkinson  1   6
Affiliations

A Transitional Year Residency Program Provides Innovative Solutions for Unmatched Medical Students

Molly M Gathright et al. J Grad Med Educ. 2021 Aug.

Abstract

Background: The transition to residency is competitive with more medical students applying for residency positions than slots available, and some will face challenges securing a position in their desired specialty. Our institution created a transitional year (TY) residency program in 2016 to help meet the needs of our medical students who did not initially secure a position in the main residency Match.

Objective: This report provides a brief overview of the TY program and analysis of the program's value from the inaugural 3 years (2017-2020).

Methods: The TY program is based at a midsized, urban, academic health center and features a tailorable curriculum emphasizing preparation for residents' specialty career plans. We used participatory action research and appreciative inquiry strategies as part of the annual program evaluation to examine TY residents' perceptions of the program's value. Stakeholder perceptions were also elicited from a purposive selection of 4 program directors and 2 key medical school education leaders.

Results: Internal evaluations revealed a high rate of resident satisfaction with the TY program and self-reported benefits such as increased confidence, clinical proficiency, and professional enculturation. Stakeholders valued the program as a potential pipeline for increasing physicians in the state and providing valuable direction to students' career trajectories.

Conclusions: Creating a TY residency program to meet the needs of unmatched medical students was feasible to implement, acceptable to residents in meeting their academic and career needs, and provided a sustainable institutional solution with benefits to multiple stakeholders.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The authors declare they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Weissbart SJ, Kim SJ, Feinn RS, Stock JA. Relationship between the number of residency applications and the yearly Match rate: time to start thinking about an application limit? J Grad Med Educ. 2015;7(1):81–85. doi: 10.4300/JGME-D-14-00270.1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Liang M, Curtin LS, Signer MM, Savoia MC. Unmatched U.S. allopathic seniors in the 2015 main residency Match: a study of applicant behavior, interview selection, and the Match outcome. Acad Med. 2017;92(7):991–991. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000001501. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ritchey P, Cydulka RK, Weizberg M, et al. What if I do not match? Scrambling for a spot and going outside the Match. J Emergency Med. 2020;58(2):e105–e107. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2019.11.025. - DOI - PubMed
    1. National Resident Matching Program. Charting Outcomes in the Match: U.S. Allopathic Seniors, 2018. 2021 https://www.nrmp.org/report-archives/ Accessed May 27.
    1. National Resident Matching Program. Results and Data: Main Residency Match. 2019. 2021 https://www.nrmp.org/report-archives/ Accessed May 27.

LinkOut - more resources