• General Match Information
• Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)
• Match Schedule for July 1, 2009 Positions
• Statistics from 2008 GI Match
• Programs Not Participating in ERAS
• GI Core Curriculum

General Match Information

Applicants may begin applying to GI Fellowship programs through ERAS as of November 15, 2007. Programs may access ERAS to download and review applications starting December 1, 2007. Results of the match will be posted June 18, 2008 for positions beginning July 1, 2009.

The AASLD, ACG, AGA Institute, and ASGE, would like to reiterate the importance of participation. The Match provides a more streamlined and equitable system for GI recruitment. All programs, whether large or small, research or clinically focused, benefit from participation in the Match. However, the success of the Match depends on sustained participation by all GI training programs.

GI’s return to the Match in 2006 was successful with nearly 85% of programs committing approximately 70% of their positions, with a match rate of 98%. To build on this success, we urge continued and expanded participation this year.

Following are links to two key documents for your use in participating in the Match:

Multi-Society Resolution Regarding GI Fellowship Applicants and Positions

Guide for Gastroenterology Programs and Applicants on the NRMP and ERAS

Please distribute to your fellowship applicants the joint-society adopted Resolution that encourages applicants to consider all programs before making an early and quick decision on where to train. Additionally, we encourage division chiefs and training directors to contact their peers directly to engage in a constructive dialogue about the Match and the overall and multiple benefits of participating.

Training directors are strongly encouraged to assume direct responsibility for registering and entering all necessary data into the National Resident Matching Program’s registration system. This includes the program’s information and the number of positions entered into the Match per track. The Match agreement is legally binding; therefore, it is important that the Training Director ensures the accuracy of this data.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact Maria Susano at msusano@acg.gi.org.

Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)

In 2007, Gastroenterology enrolled in the Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS) as an additional resource to improve the application process. ERAS takes advantage of today’s technology to provide a user-friendly, streamline application process for both training programs and fellowship applicants. The GI societies are now coordinating efforts to enroll gastroenterology into ERAS for positions to begin July 2009.

ERAS is a program offered by the Association of American Medical Colleges and provides applicants with a user-friendly interface to create and submit application material. This easy-to-use software also allows programs to manage the entire application process, from filing material to scheduling and ranking applicants. Its tools are customizable to help you quickly locate applicants with the characteristics your program is looking for in order to recruit the best applicants for your program.

To date, nearly 30 residency specialties and 18 subspecialties participate in ERAS. This means most if not all potential candidates for your program are already familiar with the ERAS process through their residency application experience. In fact, applicants have expressed overwhelming support for a universal, electronic web-based application over traditional paper application processes.

This service is free for participating programs; it is maintained by fees from applicants.

ERAS will send an email to GI training programs, along with enrollment information. Feel free to contact ERAS at 202-828-0400 with any questions you may have or visit ERAS at www.aamc.org/eras. To read the GI welcome newsletter, published by ERAS in March 2006, please click here.

Match Schedule for July 1, 2009 Positions

Statistics from the 2008 GI Match

The GI Match successfully matched 96% of fellowship positions. A total of 150 programs committed 325 positions of which 313 were filled. Overall statistics include:

Match day was June 20, 2007 for positions to begin July 2008. Training directors may access several reports on the GI Match using their NRMP log-in and password. Please visit www.nrmp.org. Click on My Reports or contact the NRMP directly at 866-617-5837.

Programs Not Participating in ERAS

For programs not participating in ERAS, applicants will be required to mail their application and accompanying documentation. Applicants must also be aware of the application deadline for these programs.

Some programs may use the Universal Application in addition to, or in lieu of, an individual institutional application. For a copy of the recently updated Universal Application, click here.

GI Core Curriculum

For information on the Gastroenterology Core Curriculum which was updated in 2007, please click here.