Update to Change in NRMP 2004 Main Match Policy
Date: May 16, 2003
To: GME Program Directors and Coordinators
From: Cathy Canfield-Jepson
Director of Graduate Medical Education
Subject: Delay in implementation of the new NRMP rule previously scheduled to become effective with the 2004 Main Match
Please note the following announcement from the NRMP.  They have decided to delay implementation of the requirement that all residency positions be registered through the Match.
* * * * *
At its May 12, 2003 meeting, the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Board of Directors voted to delay implementation of the new NRMP rule previously scheduled to become effective with the 2004 Main Match. The rule would have required all institutions that register for the Main Match to place all their residency programs and positions in the Match.
The delay in implementation is the result of recommendations and comments received over the past eighteen months from NRMP participating institutions, programs, program director organizations, medical schools, and applicants.  The Board will study the effects of three major issues:
1.
 Changes in the processing and timely acquisition of visas for international medical graduates
2.
 Limiting the rule to PGY1 positions
3.
 Making the rule program-based rather than institution-based, e.g., all programs (not institutions) registered for the Main Match must place all their positions in the Match