Match Day occurs on the third Friday of March each year at each of the 155 medical schools in the United States where the results of the National Resident Matching Program are announced. For ophthalmology, the match day is in the second week of January through the San Francisco match system. By entering the Match system, applicants are contractually obligated to go to the residency, internship or fellowship program at the institution to which they were matched. The same applies to the programs; they are obligated to take the applicants who matched into them.
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Background
In the United States, access to graduate medical training programs such as residencies is a competitive process known as "the Match." Senior medical students usually begin the application process at the beginning of their (usually) fourth and final year in medical school. After they apply to programs, programs review applications and invite selected candidates for interviews held between October and February. After the interview period is over, students submit a "rank-order list" to a centralized matching service (currently the National Resident Matching Program, abbreviated NRMP) by February or the San Francisco (SF) Match for those applying into Ophthalmology in January. Similarly, residency programs submit a list of their preferred applicants in rank order to this same service. The process is blinded, so neither applicant nor program will see each other's list. Aggregate program rankings can be found here, and are tabulated in real time based on applicants' anonymously submitted rank lists.
The two parties' lists are combined by an NRMP computer, which creates stable (a proxy for optimal) matches of residents to programs using an algorithm.
On the Monday prior to Match Day, candidates find out from the NRMP if (but not where) they matched. If they have matched, they must wait until the Match Day (later in the week) to find out where. If they have not secured a position through the Match, the locations of remaining unfilled residency positions are released to unmatched applicants the following day. These applicants are given the opportunity to contact the programs about the open positions. This is what is known as "The scramble." This frantic, loosely structured system forces soon-to-be medical school graduates to choose programs not on their original Match list. In 2012, the NRMP introduced an "organized scramble" system. As part of the transition, Match Day was also moved from the third Thursday in March to the third Friday.
Inevitably, there will be discrepancies between the preferences of the student and programs. Students may be matched to programs very low on their rank list, especially when the highest priorities consist of competitive specialties like radiology, plastic surgery, dermatology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, radiation oncology, and urology.
Osteopathic
A similar but separate osteopathic match exists which announces its results in February, before the NRMP. Osteopathic physicians (DOs) may participate in either match, filling either traditionally Doctor of Medicine (MBBS, MD, MBChB, etc.) positions accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (A.C.G.M.E.), or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine positions accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (A.O.A.).
Military
An additional match occurs for members of the US military, located at military hospitals and clinics. Military residencies are filled in a similar manner as the NRMP; however, the military match occurs at a much earlier date (usually mid-December) to allow for students who did not match to proceed to the civilian system.