Canadian Resident Matching Service

Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS)
Not-for-profit
Founded 1970
Headquarters Ottawa, Ontario
Website http://carms.ca

The Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) is a national, independent, not-for-profit, fee-for-service organization that provides a fair, objective and transparent application and matching service for medical training throughout Canada.[1] CaRMS also provides a secure online application portal for admission to the undergraduate medical program at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Governance

CaRMS is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors selected by election or appointment. CaRMS’ member organizations and stakeholders nominate directors and the CaRMS Nominating Committee prepares a slate of nominations for Board vacancies, which are presented at the annual Board meeting. Once elected or appointed to the Board, directors with their unique perspectives from their nominating organizations act in a fiduciary capacity on behalf of CaRMS in their deliberations and in their decisions.

CaRMS has eight member organizations: the Association of Canadian Academic Healthcare Organizations (ACAHO), the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC), the Canadian Association of Internes and Residents (CAIR), the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS), the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC) and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). These member organizations are important players in the Canadian medical education system and are responsible for nominating individuals to the CaRMS Board of Directors. The board also contains directors-at-large, which are appointed by board directors. Directors and directors-at-large do not represent their nominating organization and act in a fiduciary capacity on behalf of CaRMS in their deliberations and decisions.

Six standing committees also report to the Board: the Awards Committee, the Executive Committee, the Finance and Audit Committee, the Research and Data Policy Committee, the Nominating Committee and the Scope of Services Committee.

The CaRMS board meets face-to-face twice a year and one of those meetings coincides with the member’s meeting.

Member organizations

Stakeholder organizations

Residency matching

CaRMS’ secure, online service platform, CaRMS Online, provides a way for applicants to apply for medical training. CaRMS centralizes the residency application process and supporting documentation.

Once the application process is complete, CaRMS runs a match algorithm to match applicants with programs. Using the match algorithm, CaRMS matches approximately 3,700 applicants each year to postgraduate medical training programs in Canada through four residency matches:

CaRMS also administers Canadian access to the United States’ electronic application system for medical residency training, known as the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and has begun providing admissions services for undergraduate medical school.

R-1 Main Residency Match (R-1 match)

The match for entry level (R-1) postgraduate positions is CaRMS’ largest match. It encompasses all 17 Canadian medical schools and is offered in two iterations each year. The first iteration includes all graduating students and prior year graduates from Canada and the US who meet the basic eligibility criteria and arbitrarily have no prior postgraduate training in Canada or the US. It is also open to graduates from international medical schools (IMGs) who meet the basic criteria and arbitrarily have no prior postgraduate training in Canada or the US. Some of the positions are exclusive to IMGs who meet the basic criteria, with CMGs being entirely excluded from applying to these positions.

The second iteration includes positions and applicants not matched in the first iteration. This round includes applicants with previous Canadian or US postgraduate training and other applicants who did not participate in the first iteration.

A study by Wang et al. (2011) evaluated the factors influencing rank-listing of residency programs by graduating medical students undergoing the R-1 match.[2] Program characteristics, such as the variety of clinical experiences and resident morale, were weighed most heavily in terms of overall priority. However, differentiation between the top two choice programs was often influenced by distance to relatives and desirability of the city.

Family Medicine/Emergency Medicine (FM/EM) match

The Family Medicine/Emergency Medicine match is for applicants who are completing or have completed postgraduate training in family medicine in Canada and want to pursue enhanced skills training in emergency medicine.

Medicine Subspecialty Match (MSM)

The Medicine Subspecialty Match is for residents currently in an internal medicine residency training program who are looking to apply for subspecialty training.

Pediatric Subspecialty Match (PSM)

The Pediatric Subspecialty Match is for residents currently in a pediatric residency training program who are looking to apply for subspecialty training.

US Match (ERAS)

The application process for residency positions in the US is administered by CaRMS’ American counterpart, the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). The main residency match itself is managed by the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). CaRMS acts as the Dean's Office for Canadian medical students and graduates (i.e. students studying in Canada and graduates of Canadian medical schools) applying to positions through ERAS in the United States. This means that to participate in the US match, Canadian applicants must register with CaRMS.

The Match Algorithm

CaRMS uses a globally recognized algorithm to match students into postgraduate medical training programs throughout Canada. The Match Algorithm is licensed from the Canadian-based National Matching Services Inc. (NMS) and has been used to conduct medical residency matches in North America for over 50 years. The Match Algorithm, known as the Roth-Peranson algorithm, was designed by Alvin Roth and NMS President Elliott Peranson. The algorithm compares rank order lists (ROLs) submitted by applicants and programs and matches applicants to programs based on both parties’ stated preferences.

Additional services

Undergraduate admissions

CaRMS provides a secure online admissions portal for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland. CaRMS manages and handles inquiries regarding the online application system, the registration process, document processing, payment and the electronic reference portal.

Translation services

CaRMS offers English-to-French and French-to-English translation services for select documents for all matches. Eligible documents include medical school transcripts, Medical School Performance Records (MSPRs) and reference letters. This service is only available to applicants preparing a bilingual application.

Data and reports

CaRMS publishes reports on each of its matches on an annual basis and holds national aggregate statistics on medical education in Canada dating back to 1972.

External links

References

  1. ↑ Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  2. ↑ Wang T, Wong B, Huang A, Khatri P, Ng C, Forgie M, Lanphear JH, O'Neill PJ. Factors affecting residency rank-listing: a Maxdiff survey of graduating Canadian medical students. BMC Med Educ. 2011 Aug; 61(11):1-7
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