Status of the match in anesthesiology: 1988

The majority of anesthesia program directors agreed 2 years ago to use the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) as the mechanism for appointing senior medical students to second postgraduate year positions in anesthesiology. Eighty-seven applicants for the Mayo Clinic program were surveyed to measure the level of cooperation with the NRMP by programs and applicants. Low percentages of applicants reported pressures to sign contracts (22.4%) or make verbal commitments before February (32.8%). The frequency of these incidents was extremely low when considered in light of the number of applicant interviews reported by the applicants who responded. Nonparticipation in the match is a more important problem than infractions of NRMP rules.