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Take-aways from the 2026 Match

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Doximity recently published a “Clinical Brief” summarizing stats from last month’s Match. Here are the take-home messages:

1) The good news: The Match had the most applicants ever and a strong 93.5% overall fill rate.

2) More good news: DOs and U.S. citizen IMGs saw record high Match rates at 93.2% and 70.0%, respectively.

3) Bad news: Despite 134 new positions, the Family Medicine (FM) fill rate dropped to 83.6%, leaving 899 slots unfilled. The NRMP is taking this seriously: It’s convening a Blue Ribbon Panel to look at why medical students aren’t choosing FM.

4) More bad news: Non-U.S. Citizen IMGs saw a 56.4% Match rate — a five-year low.

Of note, the two pieces of bad news are connected and potentially a big problem: IMGs historically fill a disproportionate number of FM and other primary care positions. If IMG Match rates and FM fill rates are both dropping, that’s an escalating problem for primary health care access, particularly in underserved regions. 

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¡Ay Caramba!

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More from the AAMC: I read a troubling piece recently regarding a bizarre problem Puerto Rican medical students are having. Apparently, some folks don’t understand that Puerto Rico is part of the United States. Some Puerto Rican students report they are being misidentified as international medical graduates (IMGs).

The crux of the matter is that Puerto Rican medical schools are – like other U.S. allopathic medical schools – accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. On the other hand, many medical schools in other parts of the Caribbean are not LCME-accredited and graduate IMGs. 

IMGs have a tougher time matching. In the last cycle, U.S.- citizen IMGs matched at a rate of 67% and non-U.S.-citizen IMGs matched at a rate of 58.5%. On the other hand, U.S. MD graduates matched at a rate of 93.5%. Thus, being misidentified as an IMG is to the detriment of Puerto Rican medical students in the Match.

See Bridget Balch’s interesting article with more details here.

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2023 Match Data

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The NRMP recently published data regarding the most recent Match. Of note, emergency medicine – my specialty – had a whopping 554 positions that remained unfilled. Ouch! Additionally, although the numbers were better than last year, IMGs still struggled: US citizen IMGs saw only a 67.6% Match rate and non-US citizen IMGs had only a 59.4% Match rate.

There is a lot of data to review, so take a look here if you want more information on DO Match rates, specialty competitiveness, and SOAP. 

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International Medical Graduate (IMG) 2019 Match Statistics Are Out

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The ECFMG® recently published 2019 Match statistics for International Medical Graduates (IMGs). In the 2019 Match, only 59.0% of U.S. citizen IMG participants were matched to first-year positions. Of those IMG participants who were not U.S. citizens, only 58.6% obtained first-year positions (Source: ECFMG®) While the percentage of IMGs matching was slightly better than last year, IMGs still face large challenges in the residency application process despite the US physician shortage.

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International Medical Graduate (IMG) 2016 Match Statistics Are Out

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The ECFMG® recently published 2016 Match statistics for International Medical Graduates (IMGs). In the 2016 Match, only 53.9% of U.S. citizen IMG participants were matched to first-year positions, and of those IMG participants who were not U.S. citizens, only 50.5% obtained first-year positions. While the actual number of IMGs matching was slightly better than last year (with more residency positions on the whole available), IMGs still face large challenges in the residency application process.

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About Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital. She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more

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