Hi everyone! Kiley always does an amazing job of keeping our blog up-to-date, but we thought it would be best if I write about the fellowship match this year and announce where we will be moving for the next couple years of our journey together. Sorry about the overall lack of photos and my wordy story-telling, but here it goes!
As you may know, in December 2019 I was selected by the Air Force to complete a 2-year, fully funded vitreoretinal surgery fellowship in a civilian program of my choice. That meant that I would have to apply to civilian programs in 2020 for a 2021 start date. Although I was nervous about the match, I had great mentors that helped me through the process. One recurring thing I heard was that I would definitely match, so I shouldn't worry about applying to too many places. Since the military was sponsoring the fellowship, I would be free for any program that would take me. Who wouldn't want a completely free, fully-fledged ophthalmologist on their staff for two years?
Based on these factors, and seeing as I was a relatively competitive applicant, I decided to apply to eight programs total (the maximum number that came with the standard application fee; any additional programs would cost me extra!). All of them were fairly competitive. These were the programs that I was considering:
-Associated Retinal Consultants/Beaumont Health, Royal Oak, MI
-University of Colorado, Denver, CO
-Retina Group of Washington/Washington Hospital Center/Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
-Wilmer Eye Institute/Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
-Duke Eye Center, Durham, NC
-Casey Eye Institute/Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR
-Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
-Moran Eye Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Because of COVID, the San Francisco Match was delayed, and the entire timeline was pushed back around a month (although the actual match date, 12/17/2021, stayed constant). That meant that by the time I heard back from programs about whether I was given an interview, it was already too late to apply to other programs. I ended up getting interviews to only four of the eight programs where I applied: University of Colorado, Moran, Casey, and RGW. Each of the interviews was virtual, and I felt they all went very well. However, it was still nerve racking because each location was only accepting one or two applicants this year, and the other applicants were all incredible! Additionally, all the interviews were completed on Zoom, which made it challenging to really get a great feel for the programs or feel like I could sell myself as an applicant.
Finally, the match week arrived. Kiley and the kids were spending the week in Albuquerque since my leave request got denied by the Air Force (too many travel restrictions for their liking), and I was working at the VA hospital on my cataract surgery rotation. I had completed 5 of my 6 surgeries for the day when I got the following email from the SF Match:
After that, I received multiple texts from my mentors asking where I had matched, and I shared with them the disappointing news. I immediately received an outpouring of love and support from all of them. My program director, Dr. Gary Legault, was incredible. He immediately called me and said, "I know that they will post vacancies tomorrow, but the scramble happens right now. You are released from all academic obligations. Go home, contact every single program in the country, and ask about openings at their program. Let them know that you are sponsored by the government. Even if they have matched an applicant, they may be willing to create a spot for you!"
I gathered a list of programs and sent the following email to each of the program directors/program coordinators:
"My name is Sam Hobbs, and I am a current PGY-3 applying for the vitreoretinal surgery fellowship match. I have been selected by the Air Force to complete fellowship training from July 2021 - June 2023. This means that my salary, health insurance, and everything else will be paid for by the military.
"Regrettably, after applying to the SF Match this cycle, I did not match. I do not know if you have matched a fellow, but I would love to talk to you more about possibly training at your facility. My CV is attached. If you have been thinking about expanding your program, this would be a great opportunity to start.
"Please let me know your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you."
While I emailed programs, my retina mentor (Dr. Paul Drayna, the one I will be replacing when I finish my training) started going down the list of programs and making personal phone calls to each one. In less than an hour after starting to send emails, I received a phone call from Dr. Steven Schwartz, Chief of Retina at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute. He told me, "We may have a place for you. Before you accept any offer from other programs, wait until you hear back from us! It will be the hardest two years, we will work you more than you have ever worked before, but you will come out with the best training in the country."
After that, I was surprised about the number of programs that reached out. Many offered me a medical retina or uveitis spot (including the Mayo Clinic), which I had to turn down since I was required to do surgical retina. The Cleveland Clinic, Loma Linda University, University of Louisville, and several private practices (in San Diego, Philadelphia, Louisiana, etc) all offered me positions at their institutions. I also received phone calls from the programs where I interviewed, including Casey and Moran, where the program directors and other faculty started calling all around the country to find me spots. Dr. Legault was also contacting programs and found several programs who were willing to create spots for me. It was incredible to see the love and outreach of the ophthalmology and retina communities during my time of trials. Although I wouldn't recommend not matching, I was actually very grateful for the experience and for the love and support that I felt during that time.
Finally, I heard back from UCLA. Dr. Legault had called them, and although I have no idea what told them, when Dr. Schwartz called me he said, "Your program director gave me a call and sealed the deal. If you want the spot, it's yours. Our program director, Dr. Krieger, will be calling you in a few minutes for your interview." Sure enough, Dr. Krieger set up a Zoom meeting with me a few minutes later, and it was short and to the point. I didn't even have a chance to put on a suit - I was still wearing my scrubs from earlier. After a short chat, Dr. Krieger said, "I have a good feeling about you, and I think this will work out well." I agreed, and I accepted a position at UCLA for my training!
The match this year was strange. It seems like a number of people went unmatched (although I haven't seen the statistics yet). I have a feeling that a lot of it was due to COVID. All the interviews were virtual, which made it a lot less expensive to interview at multiple programs. I doubt that people turned down interviews, which means that the top applicants had their choice at any program and left many without the interviews that they wanted. Interestingly, the same thing happened at UCLA, where they decided to interview only a handful of applicants, which is probably why one of their spots went unfilled in the traditional match. It makes me wonder how this will influence the match process in years to come!
I'm not sure why things happen like they do, but I know that the hand of God is in it all. I had actually looked into UCLA as a program to train at, since it is consistently one of the top 5 in the country, but we (Kiley) decided against applying there since the cost of living is so high for a large family. I also doubt that I would have gotten an interview there even if I had applied in the first place (given their very selective interviewee pool). However, we are getting more and more excited about our prospects in LA! Not only will we be getting a more generous housing allowance (around $3500 per month), we will also be making ophthalmologist pay in the Air Force. Although it's not a ton, it will more than suffice for a comfortable living in LA for the next couple years, especially if we rent out our home here in San Antonio. Joey and Eli are excited to live near the beach, and Joey keeps telling me about all the creatures he wants to discover in the tide pools. I'm sure we are going to have an amazing adventure the next two years!
