Post-Match Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program® (SOAP®) preparation starts with residency candidates asking themselves a few simple questions. One of the most important questions is:
Are you prepared to apply to additional specialties beyond what you applied to in the regular residency application season?
To prepare for the Main Residency Match® season, most residency candidates know they need to gather specialty specific documents such as Letters of Recommendation or Personal Statements while applying to programs. However, this simple principle tends to get forgotten in the mad rush of applications at the start of the Post-Match as residency candidates end up applying to any available programs in any medical specialty using their supporting documents meant for a different specialty.
For example, a residency candidate prepared for and applied to Family Medicine and Psychiatry residency programs during the regular residency application season. Then, during the Post-Match SOAP, after they used as many of their 45 SOAP applications as they could in those two specialties, they still had a number of applications left. In their hurry to apply to more programs, they ended up having to use their Family Medicine and Psychiatry documents to apply to specialties like preliminary General Surgery or Internal Medicine programs which did not make the best impression on those programs.
Know the Data
By reviewing the data from NRMP’s® Results and Data 2018 Main Residency Match®, those looking to participate in the Post-Match can see which specialties generally have more positions available and which do not (based on SOAP 2018), allowing them to better prepare for the Post-Match with more supporting documents in a variety of specialties.
Post-Match SOAP 2018 Results per Medical Specialty
Post-Match Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program® (SOAP®) preparation starts with residency candidates asking themselves a few simple questions. One of the most important questions is:
Are you prepared to apply to additional specialties beyond what you applied to in the regular residency application season?
To prepare for the Main Residency Match® season, most residency candidates know they need to gather specialty specific documents such as Letters of Recommendation or Personal Statements while applying to programs. However, this simple principle tends to get forgotten in the mad rush of applications at the start of the Post-Match as residency candidates end up applying to any available programs in any medical specialty using their supporting documents meant for a different specialty.
For example, a residency candidate prepared for and applied to Family Medicine and Psychiatry residency programs during the regular residency application season. Then, during the Post-Match SOAP, after they used as many of their 45 SOAP applications as they could in those two specialties, they still had a number of applications left. In their hurry to apply to more programs, they ended up having to use their Family Medicine and Psychiatry documents to apply to specialties like preliminary General Surgery or Internal Medicine programs which did not make the best impression on those programs.
Know the Data
By reviewing the data from NRMP’s® Results and Data 2018 Main Residency Match®, those looking to participate in the Post-Match can see which specialties generally have more positions available and which do not (based on SOAP 2018), allowing them to better prepare for the Post-Match with more supporting documents in a variety of specialties.
Results of the Post-Match SOAP 2018 per Specialty
Anesthesiology
(PGY-1) Participating Programs – 9
Filled Programs – 9
Positions Available – 27
Positions Filled – 27
(PGY-2) Participating Programs – 8
Filled Programs – 5
Positions Available – 16
Positions Filled – 8
Child Neurology
(PGY-1) Participating Programs – 3
Filled Programs – 3
Positions Available – 3
Positions Filled – 3
(PGY-2) Participating Programs – 2
Filled Programs – 1
Positions Available – 2
Positions Filled – 1
Combined Medpeds
Participating Programs – 5
Filled Programs – 5
Positions Available – 5
Positions Filled – 5
Emergency Medicine
Participating Programs – 7
Filled Programs – 6
Positions Available – 10
Positions Filled – 8
Family Medicine
Participating Programs – 67
Filled Programs – 64
Positions Available – 141
Positions Filled – 138
Internal Medicine
(Categorical) Participating Programs – 51
Filled Programs – 45
Positions Available – 171
Positions Filled – 162
Medicine-Prelim
Participating Programs – 41
Filled Programs – 33
Positions Available – 99
Positions Filled – 88
Neurological Surgery
Participating Programs – 0
Filled Programs – 0
Positions Available – 0
Positions Filled – 0
Neurology
Participating Programs – 9
Filled Programs – 9
Positions Available – 12
Positions Filled – 12
(PGY-2) Participating Programs – 2
Filled Programs – 2
Positions Available – 4
Positions Filled – 4
Obstetrics-Gynecology
(PGY-1) Participating Programs – 6
Filled Programs – 6
Positions Available – 10
Positions Filled – 10
(Categorical) Participating Programs – 4
Filled Programs – 4
Positions Available – 6
Positions Filled – 6
Orthopedic Surgery
Participating Programs – 1
Filled Programs – 1
Positions Available – 1
Positions Filled – 1
Pathology
Participating Programs – 20
Filled Programs – 17
Positions Available – 28
Positions Filled – 25
Pediatrics
Participating Programs – 20
Filled Programs – 18
Positions Available – 53
Positions Filled – 51
Physical Medicine & Rehab
(Categorical) Participating Programs – 0
Filled Programs – 0
Positions Available – 0
Positions Filled – 0
(PGY-2) Participating Programs – 0
Filled Programs – 0
Positions Available – 0
Positions Filled – 0
Psychiatry
Participating Programs – 5
Filled Programs – 5
Positions Available – 12
Positions Filled – 12
Radiology-Diagnostic
Participating Programs – 1
Filled Programs – 1
Positions Available – 1
Positions Filled – 1
(PGY-2) Participating Programs – 0
Filled Programs – 0
Positions Available – 0
Positions Filled – 0
Radiation Oncology
(PGY-2) Participating Programs – 1
Filled Programs – 1
Positions Available – 1
Positions Filled – 1
Surgery
(Categorical) Participating Programs – 3
Filled Programs – 3
Positions Available – 5
Positions Filled – 5
(PGY-1) Participating Programs – 145
Filled Programs – 114
Positions Available – 462
Positions Filled – 412
Transitional Year
Participating Programs – 17
Filled Programs – 15
Positions Available – 65
Positions Filled – 63
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