Couples Match for 2010

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Cool. I'd like to do supermodels.

Has anyone done the couples match for orthopedics that would like to comment on the process and how this may increase the competition?

I've seen couples match into the same "regions" For instance, if you want to go to UCSF or Stanford I would suggest your fiance to apply to all of the northern cali peds programs. For all of your "top" programs have your fiance apply regionally to those areas and I bet it'll work out fine.

I'm not sure if any program will give you preference due to your circumstance of "couples match" and from what I've heard, high board scores and good grades are good but in ortho your one of many compared to some other field like family med or something. (ie, applying for ortho you will be humbled)

So, with that said, although we (ie, peepz with high board scores and good grades) would love to match at a stellar program, in the end, matching into any program to receive solid orthopaedic training should be your goal.

Good luck!

As long as you apply broadly and realize that "top level" programs don't necessarily mean HSS, Duke, Harvard, UCSF, Stanford, you will do just fine. There is a big difference between a training program and where one takes an academic staff position.

It's been a few years, but I couples matched into Ortho, my wife into pediatrics. First off, on paper, it looks like you and your fiancee are both strong applicants into your fields. My [now] wife had similar USMLE's to your fiancee, was AOA, and got turned down for only one interview request of about 50 programs in the country -- so I'm sure that your fiancee will not hold you back much.

Regarding the couples match, you can rank combinations of programs as you wish -- you choose how far you are willing to have your hospitals. I does not have to be the same one, or even the same city if you so choose. We applied broadly, to lots of programs. We chose to apply by city. She would defer interviews to later in the year for programs in cities that were far, waiting to find if I got an interview in the same city.

It was a very trying process. My best advice would be for you to speak openly and honestly about what you both want. We both made sacrifices for each other, and you two will likely have to do the same. In the end, however, we matched at our combined first choice (not at the same hospital, by choice), and could not be happier.

I know that this typically increases the difficulty of matching into any program (couples matching), so what should we be doing to try to make it into the more competitive programs? I appreciate all the responses.

there's not much more that either of you can do, other than apply to a lot of good programs. The only other thing I can think of, is to have the pediatric program directors that are interested in your fiancee try to put some pressure on the orthopaedics department on your behalf. It probably won't do much, but I doubt it can hurt to have someone else on your side.

I apologize for just seeing this post, but I'm hoping my two cents may still benefit you.

My fiance and I were candidates similar to you and yours (my fiance actually had better scores and more research than yours), coming from an Ivy League med school. I was applying in Ortho and he was applying in Neurology. We applied broadly - I selected 49 programs across the country, handed him the list, and said that he needed to have one or more programs to go with each of mine. I don't want to imply that I wear the pants in our relationship (I don't!), but we were both very conscious of exactly how competitive Ortho is. I had almost 20 interviews at top-notch programs (Penn, Duke, NYU-HJD, WashU, etc.), and he had so many interviews he canceled at least half of them. Neuro is not very competitive, and he was told on almost every interview that he could name his dream program and go there. Being very conscious of how competitive Ortho is, as our very last choice on our rank list, I think it was #79, we put down a choice of him matching at a program where we knew he had a spot and me not matching. That is what we got.

My PD (who is now my boss - I'm doing a research year under him) feels that the Couples' Match is the only reason I didn't match last year. I have trouble believing that, since my "couple" is at his first choice (top Neuro program in the country!), but it may be that in the world of Ortho, the Couples' Match is just one extra variable that the system doesn't want to have to deal with. However, if I were you, I would be FAR more concerned over YOU holding your FIANCE back than the other way around (in the sense that if we hadn't put down that last choice, my fiance wouldn't have matched, either). Matching in Peds is almost a sure thing. Matching in Ortho is far from it.

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions, or would like to know how we negotiated through making our rank list, etc. I would certainly like to use my experience to help others be better prepared.