Would you want a computer program deciding your fate?

Well, it's that time of year again. No, not the first day of spring (though that it is), but Match Day. Match Day is quite the event in the world of medical education, though it is possible that people who don't have a friend or loved one going through the process (or will go though it soon themselves) have never really heard of it. (What? How could you have not woken up this morning with a start, already feeling the excitement in the air?) Anyhoodle, what is this 'match,' you may be asking yourself. Well, basically at 12pm eastern time on the third Thursday in March, all the soon-to-be-graduating medical students gather at their school, get an envelope handed to them, and find out where in the country a giant computer program has placed them for the next 3-7 years of their life. Fun, right?? Lest you think that the computer can send you anywhere, all the applicants rank which programs they want to get matched to, in order. For example, if you want to go to BU, Harvard, and NYU (as your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices), the computer will first look and see if BU ranked you on their list; if BU didn't rank you, then it looks to see if Harvard ranked you (it probably didn't). Then they go to the next one on the list, Tufts, and if Tufts has ranked you then that's where you're Matched. Get it? I don't either really, but that's the story they give us of how the system works, anyway.
So instead of spending the afternoon diligently caring for my patients (my friend Rachel: "If one starts bleeding, they'll page you"), I instead pored over UMass' match list. Some interesting tidbits:
-It appears that the majority of MGH's pediatrics program will be comprised of UMass grads, many of whom seem to be going there
-A whopping 19 people out of 104 are going into pediatrics. I think it'll be even higher next year (at least partly because of that wacky and charismatic peds attending we all know and love).
-Zero people are going into dermatology, which is kind of surprising, considering derm is so popular (though it is competitive).
-About half of the grads are staying to do residency in MA. Surprising or not? I dunno, but it's interesting to think about since all the students are from here. Perhaps this cold and snowy winter has pushed people further south and west than in other years, like when the third snowstorm in a week hit right in the middle of interview season. (The pediatrics residents told of interviewees who got stranded in Worcester and couldn't get back to Logan on more than one occasion: applicants from California who likely ended their interview day curled up in the fetal position in a snow drift on Route 9.)
I thought that going to the Handing Out Of The Envelopes today was pretty fun (my senior resident: "Come on, team, we're going on a field trip!"), but seeing it all made me wish I were going through it next year, instead of in two years. Hey, even though I made the choice to extend and graduate in 2010 doesn't mean I'm not allowed to whine about it sometimes. :)

addendum: Our very own soon-to-be-Dr. Brant has matched at Tulane in internal medicine, her first choice! Yay!! :) Though we in the north will certainly miss her.