From unmatched to chief resident: A resident’s SOAP success story
March 23, 2026, David Mitchell — Savannah Whitney, DO, knew as an undergraduate that she wanted to deliver babies and that dream never wavered throughout medical school.
But on the Monday of Match Week in 2024, Whitney learned she had not matched with an obstetrics and gynecology residency program.
“That was a huge passion of mine,” she said. “I thought, ‘I'm going to be an OB/GYN. I'm going to deliver babies and it's going to be the best thing ever.’ It was like my entire world was destroyed.”
Whitney had a few choices on that Monday but little time to decide:
- Complete a preliminary year in OB/GYN or general surgery and repeat the National Resident Matching Program process, or
- Pursue her passion for women’s health and maternity care in family medicine.
When Match Week doesn’t go as planned
Savannah Whitney, DO
Whitney opted for family medicine and entered the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) the same day. She matched with the Cahaba-UAB Family Medicine Residency in Centreville, Alabama.
“I interviewed with about 20 programs in two days,” she said, “and it was emotionally exhausting.”
The story has a happy ending for Whitney, who will be a chief resident in the 2026-27 academic year.
That match cycle also turned out well for program director John Waits, MD, CPE, FAAFP, and associate program director Jonathan Peters, MD. Waits said he has only been through the SOAP a few times in two decades in residency education, but in 2024 Cahaba-UAB filled four of five positions in its rural track through the SOAP.
“I feel so much better about this process after going through it and finding this wonderful class of people,” Peters said.
In the 2026 Main Match, family medicine filled a record-breaking number of positions but had 899 unfilled positions. Historically, almost all remaining positions fill by the end of Match week through the SOAP. Many of those applicants—and program staff—who participated in the SOAP likely are feeling the kind of exhaustion that Whitney described, as well as some uncertainty about what comes next.
In this Q&A, Whitney and her mentors offer some reassurance and advice.
Advice for SOAP participants
AAFP: There has been some stigma associated with the SOAP in the past, but research indicates that, based on outcomes, there shouldn't be. What's your message for residents and programs that were unmatched or unfilled after the Main Match?
Peters: To the residents, I would say there's an opportunity to have an excellent experience and to be welcomed by a program that is very glad to have you. My message to programs would be that though participating in SOAP is surprising and maybe not what you wanted, it is an opportunity to go find quality individuals who will grow your organization. Engage with your new residents because they're stressed just like you are, and they're overwhelmed just like you are. They're hoping to meet kind individuals in a high-quality program that will train them well. You can do that. Making a personal connection is helpful.
Jonathan Peters, MD
Whitney: One of the things that was helpful for me at the beginning of the process was on the Thursday I accepted the position at Cahaba, I got a group text from Dr. Waits, Dr. Peters and other faculty, and they said things like, “We are so happy that you're here.” That meant so much to me in a time that I didn't feel worthy to be anywhere. I needed to hear that.
John Waits, MD, CPE, FAAFP
Waits: People shouldn't feel bad. Last year roughly one-third of family medicine programs had to SOAP. I think everybody's done it at some point.
This is such an embarrassing game sometimes, ranking people. Some of our best residents were low on our rank list and some of our best residents came through the SOAP. We put unnecessary pressure on ourselves to match the top of our list, but you just can't ever tell in any given year. Each individual has their own challenges in professional training. It’s a very individual process. The people who end up here are the people we were called to train for this community for three years, maybe longer.
Rebuilding confidence after the SOAP
AAFP: Are there unique needs to consider for an incoming resident who may have had their confidence shaken and may be adjusting to a different specialty than what they planned?
Whitney: It took a while for me to even be able to talk about the experience without crying, maybe by graduation in May. It took a lot of like self-reflection and not focusing on the “what ifs.” Like Dr. Waits said, the people who are here are the people who are supposed to be here. I'm not an OB because I wasn't supposed to be. I fully believe that the Lord wanted to be here in family medicine at Cahaba, and I couldn't be more thankful.
For programs that you interview with during the year, you’ve had months to read about them and meet their people and think about how you would mesh there. But during SOAP, you have maybe 20 minutes to meet people and look at a website. It’s a whirlwind, and decisions have to be made quickly. Being open-minded is big, but you also have to let yourself feel the things that you need to feel because disappointment is OK. But you can’t get stuck there.
Going through therapy helped me accept my situation. I'm still a doctor. Not matching the way I thought I would does not mean that I'm a terrible doctor, doesn't mean that I don't deserve to be here, doesn't mean I don't deserve to see patients and it doesn't mean I wasted my time, which are all things I said to myself that Monday of Match Week. Seeking out whatever help you need, whether it's friends or other people who have had to SOAP, really helps.
If you had applied to a different specialty, find the things from that specialty that you can also enjoy in family medicine. For me, I still get to deliver babies and do women's health. Now I also get to see babies in clinic, and I get to do well child checks and watch those babies grow up. Oh, and now mom's bringing her other kids to me. Oh, and now mom's bringing her husband to me. And now I see her whole family. It’s so cool, and it's an experience I wouldn't have had in OB.
Embracing opportunities in family medicine
AAFP: How long did it take for you to know this was going to work out?
Peters: Like many programs, we have a residency retreat in September. We have a welcome portion and integration timeframe in June and July, and then we have a retreat later. I think it really was during retreat. Savannah always came across as open and receptive to the next phase of this opportunity, even if it wasn't the opportunity she originally had hoped for. But I think it took all of that time. All the wonderings—Will I be welcome? Will I fit in? Will I like this place?—had been dealt with by September. It’s not a microwave-quick fix, but it's also well within the first period of the first year.
Whitney: We do biannual milestone meetings, reviewing your progress throughout the year, providing feedback on things you can improve on and encouraging you on things that you've done well. I remember coming to my first milestone meeting and being scared out of my mind. The whole concept is scary, but especially as somebody who felt like a fake because I hadn't drunk the family medicine Kool-Aid yet. But again, they said, ‘We're so happy you're here.” Some people don't need to hear that as much as I did, but I needed that affirmation.
I took a couple months for me. I remember checking out a patient with our associate rural track director, and she looked at me and said, “Savannah, I'm really glad you're in family medicine.” And I said, “Me too. It was the first time I said that. That was when I knew that a switch had flipped for me.”
AAFP: Any final thoughts?
Peters: For programs, it’s OK on that Monday of Match Week to take a moment, take a breath and admit having unfilled positions is disheartening. Then move along to ask, “What is the next opportunity to engage with and train folks who are eager to be here?” There is a disproportionate number of unfilled slots in rural programs. For applicants who are SOAPing in the future, consider rural programs because the training is broad, and the communities are welcoming and encouraging.
Waits: It seems short-sighted to be overly discouraged. There are long-standing structural problems in the U.S. health care system, particularly in primary care and family medicine. SOAP is just one part of our ongoing efforts to recruit medical students into primary care, especially family medicine, in underserved areas such as rural medicine. We have a lot of work ahead of us, so let’s stay committed to this mission.