FAQs Ophthalmology2020 Residency Match FAQs What are the important deadlines to Is there an advantage to getting my participate in the match? application in before September? Q Q The timeline for the ophthalmology residency There is no advantage to submitting your appli- match has been altered this year to take into cation before September. Programs will not A consideration the challenges that applicants A have access to applications prior to September and programs may face in light of the COVID- 1, so no review of applications will occur before 19 pandemic. Important deadlines for the 2020- then. In addition, no interview invitations will 2021 match cycle include: be extended until mid-October. We recognize that many students’ education has been signifi- JUL 1: Applicant registration opens. cantly disrupted this year and want everyone to have the time necessary to complete their SEP 15: Target date for application comple- applications thoroughly. tion. This is not a firm deadline, but a suggested target date; applicants are respon- sible for contacting programs for their individ- ual deadlines. Will the ophthalmology match day be OCT 26: This is the first date that interviews delayed because of COVID-19? may begin. Q In response to the effects of the COVID-19 JAN 25: Rank list submission due date. Rank pandemic on the upcoming match cycle, the lists cannot be submitted or modified after A ophthalmology match cycle has been extended this date. and match day has been delayed. All rank lists from applicants and programs must be submit- FEB 1: Match results made available to appli- ted by noon (PST) on January 25, 2021. After cants, residency programs, and medical this deadline, rank lists will be locked, and no schools. changes will be allowed. Match results will A complete timeline with these deadlines can be made available to programs, applicants, be found on the SF Match website under the and US medical schools through SF Match “timetable” tab. on February 1, 2021 (the original date was in mid-January). What if I have not been able to take the What is the difference between an USMLE Step 1 due to the COVID-19 “integrated” program, a “joint” program Q pandemic? Q and a “traditional” program? In general, a Step I score is required as part These program distinctions refer to the relation- of a complete application, but we understand ship between the PGY-1 year and the remain- A that the pandemic may have affected the ability A der of the ophthalmology residency (PGY 2-4 to take the exam for a few students. If you are years). In a “traditional” program, the PGY-1 in this situation, please contact the SF Match year and the ophthalmology residency are directly with documentation of your circum- completely separate and may occur at differ- stances. After appropriate review, it may be ent institutions. For a traditional program, possible for your application to be released to ophthalmology is not required in the PGY1, but programs, provided that you can upload your is offered by many programs as an elective. In Step 1 score later in the cycle. a “joint” program, the PGY-1 year is completed at the same institution (or affiliated institution) as the ophthalmology residency, is overseen by the Program Director for the preliminary What do I do if I haven’t taken my USMLE year (often either internal medicine or general Step 2 yet? surgery), and is required to incorporate ophthal- Q mology rotations into the PGY-1 year. An “inte- While applicants do have to provide a USMLE grated” program is similar to a “joint” program Step 1 score as part of a complete application, except that the ophthalmology program over- A Step 2 (CK or CS) is not necessary at the time sees the PGY-1 year, so the ophthalmology of application submission. Programs under- Program Director would be responsible for your stand that testing schedules have been altered training for all 4 years. Both joint and integrated because of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating programs incorporate 3 months of ophthalmol- challenges for applicants to complete testing ogy into the PGY1 training. The ACGME has as intended this year. Should your Step 2 CK or mandated that all ophthalmology programs in CS scores become available during the appli- the US transition to either a joint or an inte- cation process, you may have USMLE release grated program by July 1, 2023. your scores to SF Match, but this is completely at your discretion. There are no adverse effects within the match process if you do not submit Step 2 scores. How do I apply to the different types of Q programs? The ACGME has required that by July 2023, Moving forward, will the USMLE Step A all ophthalmology programs provide a PGY1 in 2 CK replace the USMLE Step 1 as the either an integrated or a joint format. Thus, over Q most critical exam for Ophthalmology the next several years, the traditional programs applicants? will be converting to one of these types. During this period, students will need to utilize both the Both examinations are seen as part of a holis- NRMP and the SF Match. tic applicant profile, which includes many other A factors such as scholastic performance, lead- A minority of programs will be integrated by ership and service positions, research, and July 1, 2021. Ranking them in the SF Match is unique life experiences. A single exam alone is all that is required; their PGY1 is part of the resi- inadequate to portray applicants’ unique char- dency program and the NRMP is not utilized for acteristics and strengths. these programs. Even though all years of training occur at the same institution, ranking joint programs must be done with both systems, using the NRMP for the PGY1 year (which is under the department 2 2020 Ophthalmology Residency Match FAQs of medicine or surgery), and the SF Match for the PGY 2-4 residency. Should applicants apply to more Ranking programs with a traditional PGY1 Q programs this cycle to make up for the (which can be performed anywhere) also lack of away rotations? requires using the NRMP for the PGY1 train- Away rotations are not required to success- ing and the SF Match for the ophthalmology fully match and may or may not have any effect residency portion. A on an applicant’s competitiveness. Although Since the majority of applicants will be apply- there are many challenges this year due to the ing to a mix of traditional, integrated, and COVID-19 pandemic, this should not alter the joint programs, they will need to participate in number of programs to which you apply. both matches. In the unlikely event that appli- cants would apply to and rank only integrated programs, then only the SF Match would be required. Is there a limit to the number of programs Q I can apply to this year? No, you are free to apply to as many as you wish. As you make this decision, please refer How many letters of recommendation A to the information on the AUPO and SF Match Q are required? How many need to be from websites and confer with your faculty advisor ophthalmologists? in order to determine the best number. SF Match uses a Central Application Service (CAS) to distribute completed applications A to residency programs online. Applicants are required to complete a CAS application When will interview invitations and provide required documents. Among the go out? required documents are three letters of recom- Q mendation, at least one of which must be from October 12, 2020 is the first date that inter- an ophthalmologist. view invitations can be extended. Additional A invitations may be offered by programs after this date. Residency programs will be using an Interview Scheduler managed by SF Match. Applicants will be limited to a maximum of two Will letters of recommendation from interviews per day, but obviously this may not Q other specialties be more acceptable to be possible in many cases due to the length programs for this cycle? and timing of each individual program’s inter- Three letters of recommendation are needed view schedule. An applicant must release one for your application, one of which must be interview slot in order to schedule an interview A from an ophthalmologist. The other two may with a different program at the same time; in be from persons of your choice. Common writ- other words, scheduling more than one inter- ers include professors or preceptors from other view during the same time period is not permis- rotations or a basic science course, research sible. mentors, community or academic service supervisors, or prior employers. The best letters are from those who know you well and can vouch for your character, knowledge, and Will the interview season be later this skills. Q cycle? The first date on which interviews may be held is October 26, 2020. The final date for inter- A views is January 18, 2021. 2020 Ophthalmology Residency Match FAQs 3 visit to a program, there should be no contact Will interviews be performed in-person or between individuals who are formally part of by video conferencing? the residency training program or selection Q process. Applicants should also understand The AUPO has directed that all interviews, that any such visit would have no effect on their including those for local students, will be competitiveness to match at that program. A conducted virtually for this match cycle. What do I do if I have not completed my Is there a limit to the number of Q away rotations before my application is Q interviews I can do this year? due? Each applicant may do a maximum of 20 inter- All programs understand the significant disrup- views this year and can schedule a maximum tion in medical education due to the COVID-19 A of two on any given day, provided their hours A pandemic, including inability for many students do not overlap.