Changes Made To The Post-Match Scramble
adonis123 - 07-22-10 08:53

The Scramble Work Group established by the NRMP and AAMC identified several problems:
• No organization has stewardship of the Scramble.
• The Scramble lacks the trust, transparency, and integrity inherent in the Match.
• Applicants must make career decisions too quickly, often in minutes.
• There is no separation between application, interview, and appointment.
• There is no consistent or orderly process for applying to programs.
• No rules govern applicant and program behavior.
The Work Group agreed the NRMP is the logical organization to assume stewardship of the Scramble because it releases and manages the dynamic List of Unfilled Programs and controls which applicants have access to it.
The Work Group also believed the NRMP could establish the same level of trust and integrity in the Scramble that exists in the Match. Accordingly, the Work Group recommended and the NRMP Board of Directors affirmed the following principles for change, which will serve as the basis for a Match Week Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP):
• Unmatched applicant and unfilled program information will be released simultaneously.
• There will be a “time out” period during which unmatched applicants can send applications but programs cannot make offers.
• Applicants and programs will be required to send and receive applications only through ERAS.
• NRMP-participating programs that fill positions during Match Week must do so only through the SOAP.
• New functionality will be added to the R3 System to allow programs to offer unfilled positions on the basis of preference lists submitted by the programs.
• Applicants must accept or reject their offer(s) within a specific timeframe; offers not accepted or rejected will expire.
• The R3 System will establish an electronic “handshake” when an applicant accepts a position.
• Positions will be deleted from the dynamic List of Unfilled Programs once an offer has been accepted.
• A program’s unfilled positions will be offered to applicants in order of preference until all positions are filled or the preference list has been exhausted; programs will be able to add applicants to the bottom of their preference lists throughout Match Week.
• The NRMP Match Participation Agreement will be expanded to include Match Week and SOAP, and
sanctions will be imposed for improper behavior.
Because offers made and accepted during Match Week will be binding under the Match Participation Agreement,
only applicants eligible to begin training on July 1 in the year of the Match will be allowed to participate. Prior to
Match Week, the NRMP—using the R3 System—will require medical school deans to recertify the status of their
senior students. In addition, the NRMP will exchange data with the ECFMG to recertify the status of IMGs.
Ineligible applicants, even if unmatched, would not have access to the List of Unfilled Programs. Prior to Match
Week all applicants would be notified whether they are eligible to participate in SOAP.
The following principles will apply to ERAS users participating in SOAP during Match Week:
• The ERAS system will be synchronized to begin with the onset of the NRMP SOAP.
• Only applicants who are certified by the NRMP to participate in SOAP will be able to apply to NRMP
unfilled programs using ERAS.
• Applicants who used ERAS during the regular season but did not participate in the NRMP may use ERAS
during the SOAP period; however, they will have access only to programs that are not listed on the
NRMP List of Unfilled Programs.
• Applicants applying via ERAS will have a limited number of applications they may transmit free of charge
during the SOAP period.
• Before and after the SOAP period, the normal ERAS fees will apply.
• Programs may begin downloading applications as soon as the SOAP session opens.
• Non-NRMP participating programs that do not have unfilled positions will be encouraged to update their
status in ERAS to indicate that they are “no longer accepting (NLA) applications”.
Eligible NRMP applicants:
• Must be able to enter GME on July 1 in the year of the Match
• Will be able to apply only to unfilled Match-participating programs during Match Week
Access to the List of Unfilled Programs will be restricted by match status (preliminary or
advanced)
Must use ERAS and will be able to select only unfilled Match-participating programs
Cannot use phone, fax, email, or other methods
Cannot have another individual/entity contact programs on applicant’s behalf
Will be able to accept positions only through SOAP during Match Week
• Can apply to non-Match-participating programs after Match Week
Ineligible NRMP applicants:
• Cannot participate in SOAP
Cannot apply to Match-participating programs using ERAS, phone, fax, email, or other methods
Cannot have another individual/entity contact Match-participating programs on applicant’s behalf
• Can apply to non-Match-participating programs during Match Week
Can use ERAS to select non-Match-participating programs
Can use phone, fax, email, or other methods
• Can apply to Match-participating programs after Match Week
Unfilled Programs:
• Must accept applications only through ERAS during Match Week
Cannot use phone, fax, email, or personal contacts
• Must fill positions using SOAP during Match Week
Cannot offer positions to ineligible applicants during Match Week
Cannot make offers outside SOAP during Match Week
Are not required to fill positions during Match Week
• Can add applicants to bottom of preference list
If an applicant rejects an offer or allows an offer to expire, no further offers will be made to that applicant by the same program.
Once an applicant accepts an offer, the applicant will not be able to send additional applications via ERAS.
Once a program has filled all of its positions through SOAP, applicants will be unable to send applications to that program via ERAS.
Offers extended by programs and accepted by applicants during the Match Week Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) will create a binding commitment. Failure to honor that commitment or failure to adhere to SOAP policies will be a violation of the Match Participation
Agreement.