Couples Match Helps Physicians Stay Together During Residency

Matching as a couple can be complex but rewarding, say doctors who completed the process.

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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The couples match process allows two applicants to link their rank orders for residency programs, helping partners stay together during their training. Two physicians, Chandler Stisher, MD, and Amanda Stisher, MD, who are family medicine faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, discussed their experience with the couples match and provided advice for others going through it.

Why it matters

The couples match can make a significant difference for partners who want to go through residency together, allowing them to coordinate schedules, take vacations, and support each other throughout the challenging training period. However, couples need to carefully consider the commitment involved if their relationship status changes.

The details

In the couples match process, two applicants link their rank order lists so the matching algorithm will try to place them at the same program. While couples don't have to be engaged or married, the Stishers advise thinking carefully about the level of commitment required. Couples may need to apply and interview at more programs than individual applicants, and should discuss their priorities separately before coming together to finalize their rank list. Programs have varying levels of experience with the couples match, so applicants should ask specific questions about how the program supports couples.

  • The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) offers the couples match process.

The players

Chandler Stisher

A family physician and faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

Amanda Stisher

A family physician and faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, who is married to Chandler Stisher.

National Resident Matching Program (NRMP)

The organization that offers the couples match process to allow two applicants to link their rank orders for residency programs.

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What they’re saying

“The couples match is a process by which two individuals can participate in the NRMP match process with their applications linked together. There are a few exceptions, but applicants are essentially assured they will match together at the program(s) of their choice.”

— Chandler Stisher, Family Physician (Healio)

“We successfully participated in the couples match and made our rank list so that we would end up at the same program. We knew that being at the same program would help us be able to plan around each others' schedules easier, take vacations together and basically go through the 3-year experience of residency together, with the same colleagues and preceptors.”

— Amanda Stisher, Family Physician (Healio)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

The couples match can be a rewarding way for partners to go through residency together, but applicants need to carefully consider the level of commitment required and how supportive different programs are of couples. Finding a mentor couple who has been through the process can provide valuable guidance.