It's here! The Alignment Check Index is live :)

Are you an aspiring obstetrician-gynecologist? If so, this post is for you!

As medical education continues to evolve, new efforts to ensure the best fit between applicant and program are underway. The RRR (Right Resident, Right Program, Ready Day One) through APGO (Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics) is one such effort that has been prioritizing innovation in medical education. Last year, having launched program signaling, it has specified its signaling process further this year with gold and silver signals. And now, the ACI is another piloted effort to attempt to better match applicants with programs.

Today, I found that the awaited Alignment Check Index, "developed in collaboration with the ObGyn specialty and FREIDA™, The AMA Residency and Fellowship Database", is available for Ob-Gyn applicants. The tool can be found here and is easy to use. By simply clicking on matching characteristics in six categories, the app will list programs in the order that match the applicant based upon their answers. Grant-funded and a pilot venture, it will be interesting to see how the ACI will be received by applicants in terms of how helpful it is in honing their program list to better select their signals and also determine their overall application list.

I hope you find this information helpful. With the recent changes (and/or proposed changes) in medical education (e.g. supplemental ERAS app, ACI, transition from LoRs to SLoEs/SLoRs, NRMP 2 step match process), it will be interesting to see how MedEd evolves to hopefully better meet the needs of both applicants and residency programs.

If you are interested in guidance regarding the residency match process (e.g. competitiveness and residency application strategy optimization, document [PS, ERAS, experiences, CV] review, interview preparation including mock interview practice, letter and other decision making, match/SOAP guidance) please reach out to me at rupalvoramd@gmail.com or 602-295-0298. I have worked successfully with premedical students, medical students, and residents in providing academic and career guidance (while trying to promote wellness and joy :)). Looking forward to working together for your success!

Sincerely,

Rupal Vora, MD, MPH, FACP