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Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates

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IMG Performance in the 2012 Match

For the tenth consecutive year, the number of first-year (PGY-1) residency positions offered through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Main Residency Match increased. A total of 24,034 first-year positions were offered in the 2012 Match. This represents an increase of 613 positions compared to last year and an increase of more than 3,400 positions since 2002.

The number of IMGs, including Fifth Pathway participants, who matched to first-year positions increased by 260 compared to 2011. Of the 11,134 IMGs who participated in the 2012 Match, 4,886 (43.9%) matched. In the 2011 Match, 4,626 (44.2%) IMGs were matched to first-year positions.

Of the 6,828 IMG participants who were not U.S. citizens, 2,775 (40.6%) obtained first-year positions. The number of non-U.S. citizen IMGs who obtained positions in 2012 increased by 54, after declining for the two previous years.

Of the 4,279 U.S. citizen IMG participants, 2,102 (49.1%) were matched to first-year positions, an increase of 218 over last year. This is the ninth consecutive year that there has been an increase in the number of U.S. citizen IMGs matching to first-year positions.

Of the 27 Fifth Pathway participants in the Match, 9 (33.3%) were matched to first-year positions.

It is important to note that the total number of IMGs who will fill PGY-1 positions for the 2012-2013 academic year will be higher than the number obtaining positions through the 2012 Match. Although the majority of PGY-1 positions in the United States are filled through the Match, a significant number of IMG applicants obtain positions outside of the Match. For example, while 4,686 IMGs obtained PGY-1 positions through the 2010 Match, 7,023 IMGs entered PGY-1 for the 2010-2011 academic year.

The 7,023 IMGs entering PGY-1 for the 2010-2011 academic year is a decrease of 312 from the prior year but an increase of 950 since the 2002-2003 academic year.

About the Match

The annual NRMP Match is the system by which applicants are matched with available residency positions in U.S. graduate medical education (GME) programs. Participants submit to the NRMP a list of residency programs, in order of preference. Ranked lists of preferred residency candidates are likewise submitted by U.S. GME programs with available positions. The matching of applicants to available positions is performed by computer algorithm. The Match results announced in March of each year are for GME programs that typically begin the following July.

Additional Resources on the Match and Match Results

The preceding data are taken from the Advance Data Tables for the 2012 Main Residency Match compiled by the NRMP. These tables provide detailed information on the positions offered and filled by the Match in 2012 and prior years. To access these tables, or to obtain further information on the NRMP, visit www.nrmp.org.

The June issue of Academic Medicine, the journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, usually offers an analysis of Match results from the preceding March. For more information, visit your medical school’s library or www.academicmedicine.org.

The September issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association traditionally provides an in-depth analysis of graduate medical education in the United States. This analysis includes the number of IMGs entering and continuing in U.S. GME programs and a breakdown of IMG resident physicians by specialty and subspecialty. Visit your medical school’s library or http://jama.ama-assn.org.

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