On March 20th, over 30,000 training physicians received the results of their residency applications.The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), a non profit organization established by medical students in 1952, manages the process of matching applicants with training institutions. NRMP uses an algorithm that is based on the Nobel prize winning work of economists Dr. Lloyd Shapely and Dr. Alvin Roth.

This year was the largest Main Residency Match in history. Compared to last year, 651 more seniors took part in the Match; the growth is a result of rising medical school enrollment. There was also a 3% increase in the number of available positions: nearly 60% of the additional 600+ plus positions were in the primary care specialties of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics.

Data provided by NRMP

The algorithm is suspectedto take just 17 seconds to spit out optimal results. Its origins date back to the 1960s when David Gale and Lloyd S. Shapley, distinguished mathematicians and economists, devised a matchmaking algorithm to create stable marriages. A stable marriage was defined as one in which neither spouse would rather be paired with someone else. The GaleShapley algorithm, a deferred acceptance algorithm, creates the best possible pairing after multiple rounds of matching.

A version of the Gale-Shapely algorithm is the basis of the Match and the NYC high school choice program. There are a number of other use cases outside these two examples including high school enrollment programs in Boston, Newark, Denver, and Detroit.

The NRMP algorithm has only been changed twice in the last 60 years. The first modification was made to accommodate two people who wanted to match as a couple in 1984, and the second tweak changed the algorithm from program proposing to applicant proposing. That is, the algorithm went from prioritizing the preferences of training hospitals to prioritizing the preferences of applicants.

Current CEO of NRMP, Mona Signer, told FORBES, One of the benefits to this whole process is that we dont change the algorithm. It is consistent, and that is important in terms of creating trust in our process. She added, We could run matches from prior years and get the same result. In fact, sometimes we do that to make sure that the software is functioning correctly.

Every year NRMP publishes an extensive amount of data surrounding the Match on its own website while also distributing the data to other publications. Signer says, All the data collected serves to report the aggregate statistics for the Match outcome and to help applicants and program directors maximize their chances in the Match. They produce a program director survey aimed at helping students learn what program directors are looking for, as well as an applicant survey for program directors to understand what applicants are looking for.

Signer warns that, even with all this information available, there is no way to game the system.

According to Signer, It is not that there is a shortage of positions that keeps U.S. students from matching. Its really more a matter of matching their own credentials to an appropriate specialty.

Read the original here:

Quantifying Harmony: The Matchmaking Algorithm That Pairs Residents With Hospitals, Students With Schools