Issue Forty-Four - March 30, 2004
2004 Match Performance - More IMGs Participate and Match
For the second consecutive year, the number of first year (PGY-1) residency positions offered through the Match increased. A total of 21,192 first year positions were offered in the 2004 Match, held earlier this month. This represents an increase of 284 positions compared to 2003.
The number of IMGs who participated in the Match and the number of IMGs who matched to first year positions both increased, continuing last year's upward trend. For the 2004 Match, 7,686 IMG applicants participated, compared to 7,016 in 2003. Of the 7,686 IMG participants, 4,087* (53.2%) were matched to first year positions. In the 2003 Match, 3,884 (55.4%) IMG participants were matched to first year positions.
There were 2,015 U.S-citizen IMG participants; of these, 1,117 (55.4%) were matched to first year positions. Of the 5,671 IMG participants who were not U.S. citizens, 2,970 (52.4%) obtained positions. The number of non-U.S. citizen IMGs who obtained positions in 2004 increased by 171 compared to the prior year.
The number of IMG participants who were not U.S. citizens, at 5,671, represents an increase of 12.8% over the previous year, which also saw a double-digit increase in this category. This upward trend of the past two years reverses a decline in the number of non-U.S. citizen IMG participants in the 2000-2002 Match years.
*Note: The total number of IMGs who will fill PGY-1 positions for the 2004-2005 academic year will be higher than this number, since a significant number of IMGs obtain PGY-1 positions outside of the Match.
About the Match
The annual NRMP Match is the system by which applicants are matched with available residency positions in U.S. programs of graduate medical education (GME). 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 typically for GME programs beginning the following July.
Additional Resources on the Match and Match Results
The preceding data are taken from the Advanced Data Tables for 2004 Residency Match compiled by the NRMP. These tables provide detailed information on the positions offered and filled by the 2004 Match and prior Match 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.