With the 2024 CaRMS Match cycle getting underway, we want to share with you some of the work that has kept the CaRMS team engaged and energized over the summer – and give you a heads up about what you can look forward to from us in the coming months.
CaRMS Online revitalization
At CaRMS we are continuously striving to enhance the client experience for all match participants. From our knowledgeable client relations staff to our process experts and technical specialists, our priority has always been building an excellent match experience – and our CaRMS Online platform is a big part of that experience.
Since we debuted CaRMS Online for the 2013 match cycle, we’ve made annual enhancements to the platform’s features and functionality to respond to our clients’ needs. Over the past several years, we’ve seen a lot of change – including significant technological advancements and new ways of working. The time has come for a more extensive revitalization of CaRMS Online to incorporate these developments and ensure the platform advances with the ever-changing digital landscape.
This work is beginning now, and client consultation will be a big part of the process, from initial information gathering to prototypes and user testing. Stay tuned for ways you can share your thoughts to help us identify opportunities for improvement and new features that could make your CaRMS Online experience even better.
Guided by input from our clients, a new CaRMS Online will reflect the way we work together and will introduce innovations to make that work easier and more efficient. Since the way we work together is constantly changing, a new CaRMS Online will be flexible enough to evolve with our clients to ensure we can continue to meet their changing needs well into the future – all part of CaRMS’ mission to serve as trusted stewards, builders and innovators of data-informed application and matching services.
Support of the current CaRMS Online platform will continue in parallel to the new development work, and we look forward to sharing updates as work progresses.
Supporting HHR planning
The Canadian health care system is currently facing a number of challenges, and many in our community are working to address those challenges in innovative ways. The residency matching system can play an important role in these efforts by aligning the residency positions needed to serve communities with qualified applicants who are interested in those positions.
A number of faculties over the past match cycle have reached out to CaRMS to help inform and collaborate on opportunities to address local HHR needs. These engagements have provided CaRMS the opportunity to strengthen relationships while helping stakeholders learn how various system design features can be applied to their unique circumstances. We look forward to continuing to support faculties as they work to meet their communities’ HHR goals in an ever-changing environment.
Expansion of services within the Canadian medical training environment
CaRMS has had introductory meetings with representatives from both Toronto Metropolitan and Simon Fraser medical schools. Discussions have begun relating to orientation and onboarding. CaRMS is committed to establishing and fostering strong working relationships with leadership from both new medical schools.
CaRMS has also had several discussions over the last year with disciplines looking to join a match, including Thoracic Surgery and three Psychiatry subspecialties.
Data for informed decisions
With the media’s recent focus on and interest in Canadian healthcare, CaRMS is often asked to provide match data and other information around the residency match and selection process to clients and stakeholders, as well as to the media to inform coverage of the current medical landscape. CaRMS is happy to be seen as a source of truth and to have the opportunity to contribute to the larger medical education conversation.
In our annual CaRMS Forum, we shared data and insights from the 2023 R-1 Match, with a special focus on Family Medicine and International medical graduates. For those of you who were unable to attend the live virtual event, we invite you to review the presentation deck or the 2023 CaRMS Forum video. In the coming weeks, we will be updating the R-1 data on our website to include data from the 2023 match cycle. From detailed match reports and application numbers by faculty and discipline to high level diversity data from the CaRMS self-identification questionnaire – you’ll find it all on carms.ca.
