NRMP Statement on Professionalism

Thank you for registering to participate in a Match administered by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Once the NRMP has accepted your registration, you will be able to use the Match Site at https://services.nrmp.org/r3/home/login/login.cfm to complete and certify your rank order list and obtain your match results.

During the registration process, you agreed to comply with the terms and conditions of the Match Participation Agreement, which is binding on you and all other Match participants. You may re-read the Match Participation Agreement by logging on to http://www.nrmp.org/ and then clicking either Residency Match or Fellowship Match and selecting "Match Agreement" on the left menu bar.

Please read this message carefully. It highlights the importance the NRMP places on professional behavior by all Match participants and contains information about the consequences of violating the Match Participation Agreement. Strict adherence to the terms and conditions of the Agreement is essential in order to avoid Match violations and their attendant penalties.

NRMP STATEMENT ON PROFESSIONALISM

The NRMP maintains the highest professional standards in the conduct of the Match and in its interactions with all participants: applicants, program directors, institutional officials, and medical school officials. The NRMP expects all Match participants to conduct their affairs in an ethical and professionally responsible manner.

All applicants, program directors, institutional officials, and medical student officials are required to comply with the terms and conditions of the Match Participation Agreement. The right of applicants to freely investigate program options prior to submission of their final rank order lists must be respected.

How Do I Avoid Engaging In A Match Violation?

Participants can avoid engaging in a Match violation by observing practices that respect the right of programs and applicants to determine their selections in the absence of unwarranted pressure and by adhering to the highest ethical principles in all interactions with other Match participants. The specific rights and responsibilities of Match participants are set forth in the Match Participation Agreement to which each participant affixes an electronic signature during registration and which is a binding commitment to conduct all affairs related to the Match consistent with the Agreement.

The requirements of the Match Participation Agreement, including the Policies and Procedures for Waiver Requests and the Policies and Procedures for Reporting, Investigation, and Disposition of Violations of NRMP Agreements, can be reviewed in the public area of the NRMP's web site at http://www.nrmp. org/ in the Residency Match section (for the Match Participation Agreements that govern the Main Residency Match) and the Fellowship Match section (for the Match Participation Agreement that governs the Fellowship Matches, also known as the Specialties Matching Service), by clicking on "Match Agreements" in the left menu bar.

An Applicant Match History is available in the Registration, Ranking, and Results (R3) System and should be used by program directors and NRMP institutional officials to determine whether an applicant has a binding concurrent-year match commitment to another program. The Applicant Match History also can be used to determine if an applicant has requested a waiver of the match commitment and/or been involved in an NRMP violation investigation. The Applicant Match History is available throughout the year, allowing programs to determine an applicant's eligibility for appointment prior to offering the applicant an interview.

An Institution and Program Violations Report also is available in the R3 System, allowing applicants and medical school officials to determine whether an institution or program has been involved in an NRMP violation investigation.

Most Commonly Reported Violations

The violations most commonly reported to the NRMP are:

1. After the Match, an applicant who matched to a program does not accept the matched position. The Match Participation Agreement states that the listing of a program on the applicant's certified rank order list and the listing of an applicant on a program's rank order list establishes a binding commitment to accept/offer an appointment if a match results. Failure to honor that commitment is a breach of the Agreement.

2. A director of a program that participates in the NRMP Main Residency Match offers a written or verbal contract before Match Day to a senior from a U.S. allopathic medical school. The Match Participation Agreement requires programs participating in the Matching Program to select US seniors from allopathic medical schools only through Matching Program.

3. A program director asks for verbal or written confirmation from an applicant about how he/she intends to rank the program. Although the Match Participation Agreement does not prohibit either an applicant or a program from volunteering how one plans to rank the other, it is a violation of the Match Participation Agreement to request such information.

4. A matched applicant discusses, interviews for, or accepts a position in another program prior to receiving a waiver from the NRMP. Similarly, a program director discusses, interviews for, or offers a matched position to an applicant prior to receiving a waiver from the NRMP. The Match Participation Agreement prohibits applicants and programs from releasing each other from a match commitment. Once parties have matched, a waiver of the binding commitment may be obtained only from the NRMP.

5. A program director discusses, interviews for, or offers a position to an applicant who is matched to a concurrent-year position in another program. The Match Participation Agreement prohibits programs from discussing, interviewing for, or offering a position to an applicant who is matched to another program and who has not been granted a waiver by the NRMP.

6. A medical school official from an allopathic school withdraws a US senior who wishes to accept a position outside the Match. US allopathic seniors may be withdrawn only for specific reasons, which are listed on the My Students and Graduates screen accessible by medical school officials through the Match Site at https://services.nrmp.org/r3/home/login/login.cfm.

7. An unmatched applicant contacts programs about unfilled positions prior to 12:00 noon eastern time on Tuesday of Match Week. It is a breach of the Match Participation Agreement for unmatched applicants and unfilled programs to contact each other about unfilled positions prior to 12:00 noon eastern time on Tuesday of Match Week. In addition, it is breach of the Match Participation Agreement for matched applicants and programs to contact each other about match results prior to the general announcement of Matching Program results at 1:00 PM eastern time on Thursday of Match Week.

8. A director of a program that does not participate in an NRMP match offers a position to a senior student in a US allopathic medical school. The Match Participation Agreement states that if any of an institution's programs participates in the Match Residency Match, all of its programs, regardless of Matching Program participation status, must offer positions to US allopathic seniors only through the Main Residency Match or another national matching program. Institutions may be investigated for a breach of any of its obligations under the terms of the Match Participation Agreement.

Misleading Communications

Each year, the NRMP is contacted by applicants who believe that an error has occurred in the Match because they did not match to programs whose directors had promised them positions (i.e., had promised to rank them high enough to ensure a match). In every case, the NRMP has determined that the applicant did not match to the desired program because, contrary to the applicant's expectation, the program did not rank the applicant high enough on the program's rank order list for the applicant to match there.

The Match Participation Agreement permits program directors and applicants to express interest in each other but prohibits the solicitation of statements implying a commitment. However, some applicants may misinterpret statements of encouragement to signify a commitment on the part of the program and some programs may make misleading statements.

Statements such as the following have been made by program directors to applicants who later did not match to those programs:

• "We plan to rank you very high on our list."
• "We hope to have the opportunity to work with you in the coming year."

Such statements are not binding and frequently are misinterpreted, and applicants should not rely on them when creating their rank order lists.

Program directors, institutional officials, and medical school officials should avoid making misleading statements and at all times display a professional code of behavior in their interactions with applicants.

NOTE: The foregoing examples are illustrative only. They are not meant to be an exhaustive list of the types of activities that violate the NRMP's Match Participation Agreement. To review the terms and conditions of the Match Participation Agreement, please go to the NRMP's web site at http://www.nrmp.org/

Updated July 2009