Residency Applications: Overcoming Redundancy With Disclosure

Abstract

In this report, applicant types are sometimes combined into a smaller number of groups.  Foreign-Trained Physicians: U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen students and graduates of international medical schools.  Independent Applicants (IA): All applicant categories excluding U.S. allopathic seniors.  Others: Includes previous U.S. graduates and Canadian, Osteopathic, and Fifth Pathway applicants. Couple Any two applicants can register as a couple in the Match. The NRMP allows couples to form pairs of choices on their primary rank order lists, which are considered in rank order when the matching algorithm is processed. The couple will match to the most preferred pair of programs where each partner has been offered a position. PGY-1 & PGY-2 Postgraduate year one and postgraduate year two. Program Type The NRMP classifies programs for the Main Residency Match into five types:  Advanced (A) programs: Programs that begin in the PGY-2 year after a year of prerequisite training.  Categorical (C) programs: Programs that begin in the PGY-1 year and provide the full training required for specialty board certification.  Primary (M) programs: Categorical programs in primary care medicine and primary care pediatrics that begin in the PGY-1 year and provide the full training required for specialty board certification.  Preliminary (P) programs: One-year programs that begin in the PGY-1 year and provide prerequisite training for advanced programs.  Physician (R) programs: Programs that are reserved for physicians who have had prior graduate medical education. Reserved programs offer PGY-2 positions that begin in the year of the Match and thus are not available to senior medical students. SOAP The Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program® (SOAP®) is a process by which eligible unmatched applicants in the Main Residency Match apply for and are offered positions that did not fill when the matching algorithm was processed. vi Results and Data 2017 Main Residency Match® Position Fill Rate A successful Match is measured not just by volume, but also by how well it matches the preferences of applicants and program directors. Based on that criterion, the overall position fill rate of 96.0 percent makes the 2017 Match one of the most successful on record. After the matching algorithm was processed, only 1,279 of the 31,757 positions were unfilled and 1,177 of those positions were placed in the Match Week Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP). At the conclusion of SOAP, all but 101 were filled, for a post-SOAP fill rate of 99.4 percent.