IMG Match Rates are Highest in 25 Years
International medical graduates (IMGs) showed strong performance in the 2018 Main Residency Match®, according to results published today by the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®). The NRMP Match determines where medical school graduates will enter residency (medical specialty) training each year in the United States.
While the overall number of IMGs participating in the Match declined by 211 compared to last year, their success rate in obtaining first-year residency positions was 56.5%, up from 53.3% last year.
Among U.S. citizen IMGs, 2,900 (57.1%) matched to first-year residency positions, an increase of 123 over last year. The number of U.S. citizen IMGs matching to first-year positions has increased in 13 of the last 15 years. For non-U.S. citizens, 3,962 (56.1%) matched, an increase of 148 positions. This is the seventh annual increase in the number of non-U.S. citizen IMGs who matched. For both groups, these match rates are the highest since 1993.
Today’s results show 16 consecutive years of growth in the number of first-year residency positions offered through the Match. In the 2018 Match, 30,232 first-year positions were offered, an increase of 1,383 (4.8%) compared to 2017 and a cumulative increase of more than 9,500 positions since 2002.
“The success of IMGs in this year’s Match demonstrates the importance of this talented and qualified pool of applicants for U.S. training programs,” said ECFMG President & CEO William Pinsky, M.D. “The growth in available residency positions, particularly in primary-care specialties like Internal Medicine, represents continued opportunities for IMGs interested in training in the United States.”
A detailed infographic on IMG performance in the 2018 Match can be found here.
About IMGs in U.S. Health Care
IMGs, physicians who received their medical education from medical schools outside the United States and Canada, comprise one-quarter of physicians in training and practice in the United States. IMGs are essential to the U.S. graduate medical education (GME) and health care systems, ensuring that our physician workforce is adequate to care for patients. IMGs frequently specialize in primary care, practice in medically underserved areas, and add much needed diversity to our physician workforce.
[posted March 16, 2018; updated April 27, 2018]
