SSO Breast Match Overview

Introduction

The Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship Match (SSO Breast Match) is an Application Service and Matching Program that provides an orderly process to help applicants obtain positions of their choice, and to help programs obtain applicants of their choice. For many years, health care training sites throughout North America have used a similar match in the annual recruitment of medical residents, pharmacy residents, psychology interns, dentistry residents, and others.

How It Works

• 1. Register for the SSO Breast Match

  Applicants and programs must register online in the NMS Match System.

  • Applicant Registration
  • Program Registration

• 2. Apply to and Interview with Programs

  All applications are submitted to programs using the Application Service available in the NMS Match System. The Application Service is an online tool that allows applicants to send applications to programs, and allows programs to organize and evaluate applications submitted by applicants.

  Each application includes contact, academic, professional, and exam score information provided by the applicant; a personal statement, CV, and other supporting documents; and at least one reference letter submitted by an individual designated by the applicant. Applications can be customized for each program and must be submitted by the deadline date. Programs are able to download a single integrated PDF document for each applicant that includes all application information.

  Applicants and programs interview and evaluate each other independently of the SSO Breast Match. However, no offers are made by programs during the interview period. Applicants and programs can evaluate each other fully before the programs must decide on their preferences for applicants, and before applicants must decide on their preferences for programs.

• 3. Submit Your Rank Order List of Preferred Placements

  Each program will offer one or more tracks in the SSO Breast Match. A track refers to a type of position or stream of training at a program (e.g., positions with different focus areas, may be offered as separate tracks).

  After all interviews are completed, each applicant confidentially submits a Rank Order List in the NMS Match System on which the applicant lists the tracks they desire at each program of interest, in numerical order of preference (first choice, second choice, etc.).

  Similarly, each program confidentially submits a Rank Order List in the NMS Match System for each of its tracks on which the program lists its desirable applicants for that track in order of preference. Each program also indicates the number of positions available in each track.

• 4. The Matching Algorithm is Run

  The matching algorithm then places individuals into positions based entirely on the preferences stated in the Rank Order Lists.

  • Read about how the Matching Algorithm works

• 5. Get Your Result

  The result of the SSO Breast Match is that each applicant is placed with the most preferred track on the applicant's Rank Order List that ranks the applicant and does not fill all its positions with more preferred applicants. Similarly, each track is matched with the most preferred applicants on its list, up to the number of positions available, who rank the track and who do not receive positions in tracks they prefer.

• 6. Post-Match Process

  It is possible that all of a particular track's positions will not be filled in the matching process, and that some applicants will be left unmatched. When the results of the SSO Breast Match are released, information regarding positions that remain available is provided to applicants who are not matched. Similarly, information regarding unmatched applicants is provided to programs with unfilled positions.

  The filling of available positions in the Post-Match Process is not done by NMS. Applicants still seeking a position and programs with positions available are free to contact each other and to negotiate directly with each other, independently of the SSO Breast Match, to fill available positions.

Read more about each stage of the SSO Breast Match process:

Benefits of the SSO Breast Match

The Application Service allows applicants to apply to multiple programs from a single user-friendly online application. Programs are able to access a consolidated online portal to collect, review, and evaluate all of their applications.

The SSO Breast Match allows programs and applicants to evaluate each other fully before determining preferences, so there is no pressure to make premature decisions based on incomplete information. Applicants and programs do not receive information about the rankings submitted by other applicants and programs. Applicants and programs can list their desired placements in order of their true preference, without worrying about how they will be ranked by the other party.

The Match simplifies the process of making and accepting offers of admissions. Since all offers, acceptances, rejections and final placements occur simultaneously, the matching process is an effective and fair means of implementing a standardized acceptance date. The SSO Breast Match guarantees that each applicant and program will get the best possible result that is available to them.

The SSO Breast Match ensures that programs will not overfill their positions. It also eliminates unfair behavior that occurs in many typical recruitment processes, like programs issuing extremely time-limited offers, applicants hoarding multiple offers, and programs or applicants reneging on a prior acceptance because a more preferred option has become available.

Governance

The Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) is responsible for setting the rules of the SSO Breast Match and for monitoring its implementation. The administration and conduct of the SSO Breast Match is carried out by National Matching Services Inc. (NMS), on behalf of SSO.