Memories of the resident scramble

By: Julie McCoy December 11th, 2008

Editor’s note: Hello readers, Today’s blog post was written by frequent Residency Manager Blog commenter and radiology residency coordinator, Diane Slosser. Enjoy!

As I paraded candidates through my program today, I had a flashback to the time we had four slots open and matched with no one. It was my very first year as a coordinator. . . my first interview season, my first rank, and now my first scramble. I had no idea what was coming.

At 12:00:01pm, the phones started ringing, the e-mails started coming, and the fax machines started running. As soon as we hung up the phone, it rang again. As soon as the fax paper tray was loaded, it was empty. My voice mail was full, and as fast as I emptied it, it was full again. My inbox was full, and my e-mail closed down. Although we told hopeful candidates that we were not giving personal interviews, applicants showed up at our institution. Some even waited hours hoping they would be given a chance.

All I can say is never in my life have I experienced anything like it. I can only imagine that this is what it must be like on the floor of the stock exchange.

Even after we filled the slots, this craziness continued for days. It was so stressful and overwhelming, yet, at the same time, very exciting and energizing. Our program director said he wants to scramble every year!

Please share your own scramble experiences below!