The Match: How ACOG Is Helping Reduce Stress around Entering Residency

While graduating medical school is a huge milestone in a future obstetrician—gynecologist’s career, it comes with its own stressors, such as matching to a residency program. The match process can be difficult and stressful for many medical students—and that pressure only increases when students consider everything they need to do to prepare for residency itself.

So what makes the matching process so stressful? To start, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) results can be overemphasized, which may cause medical students to focus on test results to the point of neglecting other educational and curricular opportunities. And although the number of residency positions has increased over the last five years, the number of residency applications that programs receive has drastically increased, making matching more competitive than ever before. This is especially problematic when you consider that each program has a designated number of interview spots. Interviews can also be logistically difficult, financially burdensome, and time-consuming for students and programs, a problem confounded by the fact that because each student will only select one program, training programs may need to repeat interview processes to fill all openings. The difficulties don’t stop once you’re matched, either: PGY-1s can vary in skill level on day one of residency and may need extra resources to shore up their knowledge in different areas.

ACOG recognizes the challenges that medical students face and is committed to helping the future leaders of our profession succeed. We’re considering ways to change the match process itself. Indeed, many issues with the transition to residency could be alleviated by restructuring the process. We are also actively working to ensure that medical students are informed about the obstetrics—gynecology specialty and have the resources they need to be prepared to enter the profession. The Step Up to Residency Program, developed by CREOG and the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics, is a partial post-match curriculum that helps PGY-4s hone the skills and knowledge they’ll need in the early stages of residency. Step Up to Residency features hands-on training and covers fetal monitoring, the basics of ultrasound, neonatal resuscitation, and more. PGY-4s will also have the chance to discuss the aspects of residency that extend beyond the hospital; for example, resident wellness, financial planning, and career planning. CREOG is also launching a comprehensive post-match curriculum for all soon-to-be residents that will build the specific knowledge base and skill set that obstetrics—gynecology interns can use before the first day of residency.

Finally, ACOG offers a residency fair at our Annual Meeting and local medical student days, provide students with hands-on support as they prepare for residency, through our Districts and Sections.

Preparing for and transitioning to residency can be daunting, but the initiatives ACOG is involved in will help pave the way for medical students to become confident, informed, and well-prepared residents. ACOG is committed to being a valuable resource for all its members, starting with your first steps of training and continuing throughout your entire career.