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Yesterday someone tweeted about a person in their med school who made an incredibly arrogant comment and then later went on to not match. The pile on of karma comments and “he got what was coming to him” actually hurt my soul. Each year, thousands of future doctors leave their
futures up to a computer algorithm. Ultimately they don’t get to actually choose where they live, who they work with, the training they get and sometimes, even the specialty they practice. Last year, 20% of applicants did not match to a PGY1 spot. This doesn’t even take into
account those who SOAP’d into other positions that didn’t get to do the specialty of their choice. Medical school is hard. You go through with so much hope that you’re going to find the specialty you love and then be able to practice it. You also pay a lot of money in order
to attend. To go through what we went through and then not match is absolutely earth shattering. It is soul crushing. There are a million and one reasons why someone may not match, and a lot of them are unfair and can be linked to the patriarchal culture of medicine. Not matching
can wreak havoc on a person’s mental health. It is certainly not unheard of for people who don’t match to have depression, anxiety, and even attempt or commit suicide. Please, before you talk about karma, pause and think about the impact not matching has on so many.
