I can't speak to this personally but my brother is a physician and despite scoring well on his exams it took years to get a residency. Pedigree is still an issu

I can't speak to this personally but my brother is a physician and despite scoring well on his exams it took years to get a residency. Pedigree is still an issue, as-is nepotism and age discrimination it seems. There are a limited number of residency slots allotted by the government each year so if you don't get one it's a whole year before you can apply again. It's certainly an archaic system, and the incentive by the medical lobby to expand residency programs is low presumably to protect wages. Even if you do jump through all the hoops, life as a doctor is a grind. Hospitals are businesses and your job is to see as many patients as possible. This is all coming from him and other family members who went through the whole ordeal.