Choosing the right residency program now as simple as swiping right
TORONTO - In a unique move, Tinder and the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) have joined forces to streamline the residency matching process.
“Instead of flying across the country to interview for programs, matching to a residency program can now occur from the comfort of your own toilet,” stated Avril Asinus, VP of App Development at CaRMS.
CaRMinder App is Profile-Based
In the new process, medical students and residency program directors will download the new CaRMinder app, then create descriptive profiles with suspiciously flattering photos and somewhat exaggerated descriptors. From there, each will simply swipe left or right when they see the profiles of
potential matches, and the algorithm will ultimately assign students to specialties.
“I think it’s fantastic,” said fourth-year medical student Jenn Surge. “Why would I fly all the way to meet Regina when I know she’s interested in other people and I’m really not into her?”
Applicants will now be notified of a potential match instantly. The subsequent interview process will take place over the CaRMinder app’s messaging software.
Reports of Flaws Already Surfacing
The new app has not been without flaws, however, as CaRMinder is already overwhelmed with reports of misleading profiles.
“It was really strange, when I got to Prince George, I realized his profile was actually quite misleading - there wasn’t anything royal about it. In fact it was more like Peasant George,” explains a first-year resident who was involved in testing a preliminary version of the software last year who preferred not to be named. “I ghosted that program so quick but in the end I got burned and ended up being the only resident matching to Family Practice in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan that year.”
The move to a fully online platform has rattled some residency program directors who are more accustomed to in-person interviews. “On Match Day we were notified that one of the residents who matched to us was actually on academic probation, which wasn’t anywhere in their CaRMinder profile.” When asked to comment, Asinus defended the app, stating, “the algorithm is quite sophisticated; in this instance it was a perfect match, actually; that particular residency program was also on accreditation probation.”
Additional Innovation Coming to Canadian Medical Education
The move has created a surge of innovation in medical education. In a related development, the Medical Council of Canada will be using Tinder app algorithms to help choose which candidates succeed or fail an Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE).
Additionally, Uber now is partnering with residency programs to create Uber-MD, which allows residents to rate their attendings on a scale from 1 to 5. Since the change, a large number of attendings now have mints and water bottles available in their offices and at their academic half-day presentations.
Time will tell, however, if the CaRMinder app remains the most innovative medical education development of 2019, as early reports indicate that the Medical Circus may ultimately take the title. The Medical Circus, launching at the 2019 SRPC Rural & Remote Conference in Halifax next week, is an educational yet entertaining one-hour stage show that replaces the traditional medical conference keynote, and could potentially transform medical education for years to come.