Match Day (well, not for me)

So, today was the CaRMS match day. Hundreds of graduating medical students just found out where they will spend the next 2-6+ years of their lives and what they'll be doing for the rest of their careers.

It's a day of very mixed emotions. For many, it's the best day of their lives. They get validation for 3-4+ years of hard work and learning. More importantly, they get a chance to help patients in the way they want to help patients, to have the career they wanted. Getting into medical school was a huge moment for me, but I'm not considering my career on track until I know my residency placement. I think a lot of students feel similarly, which is why getting a good result on Match Day is such a huge deal. It's a life-defining moment.

And yet, there are some who got less-than-stellar news today. There's always a percentage of people don't match each year in the first iteration. To them, it's a crushing moment, full of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. Many will go through this whole process again with the unfilled spots left in the second iteration. By definition, these spots will be ones that had already rejected the unmatched applicants, or ones which those applicants chose not to apply to. That's a very tough pill to swallow - anything left that an applicant wants has basically already said "no", so they have to pursue programs they didn't want in the first place.

In the middle are people who matched, but went so far down their list of preferred programs that there's a major element of doubt. They'll be heading to a location or specialty they didn't fully expect to get, and have to make a major readjustment in mentality and life planning. That's a big curveball just when a career is starting to take off - and there's no backing out. CaRMS is a contract, so once you're matched, that's where you're going.

It's hard to know what to feel on days like today. Elation for some, cautious optimism for others, consolation for a few more.

Of course, being someone who will go through this all in a few short years, it's hard not to be a little scared of what's coming. Today's not about me - not even close - but it's tempting to put myself in the shoes of the current graduating class. To feel the unbridled excitement of matching to a first-choice program. To steel myself for the possibility that maybe I'll have to settle for a backup I never thought I'd end up with. To experience the dread of going unmatched and what I might do today to avoid that fate.

As I said - a day of mixed emotions.