AAMC Reporter: April 2005

Match Day Participation Hits 20-Year High

Caroline Haynes, M.D., Ph.D., advisory dean and director of student affairs at Duke University School of Medicine (center), with Duke students Andy Garrison and Courtney Maclean

In one of the most anxiously awaited moments of medical school, more than 22,000 students discovered in March where they will spend their residency.

With more than 14,700 U.S. medical school seniors participating, the Match achieved its highest popularity in nearly 20 years.

The 2005 Match, conducted by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) attracted more than 25,300 applicants. This year, the number of available residency positions hit an all-time high of 24,012, an increase of 308 from 2004. Of possible matches, 22,221 were filled, satisfying all positions in 3,076 residency programs.

Andrew Garrison and Courtney Maclean, two fourth-year students at Duke University School of Medicine, applied to the Match as a couple and were paired with the University of Utah School of Medicine. Garrison will start a family medicine residency while Maclean will enter obstetrics-gynecology. Applying as a couple is more complicated than applying individually, but both students were happy with their results and with the process.

"Overall, things went very smoothly for us, and we're excited," Maclean said. "I think the Match is really efficient if everyone is true to themselves when making the list of where they want to be."

Selecting and ranking programs was actually the most difficult part of the Match process, Garrison said. He and Maclean considered many factors important to both of them before deciding on a final list. After they submitted their choices, all they could do was wait.

"Monday was the most nerve-wracking day because we were waiting to see if we'd even matched," he said. "After we found out, it was easy to just sit back and relax."

The number of participating couples — defined by the NRMP as any two applicants enrolling in the program as partners — dropped slightly from 2004. However, the percentage of couples matched rose. Out of 606 couples, 552 matched, equaling a 94.3 percent match rate, compared to last year's 93.9 percent.

The NRMP receives applications from U.S. medical school students as well as graduates from foreign medical schools and students from osteopathic schools. Approximately 78 percent of all applicants matched to a first-year residency program, and 83 percent of those paired were assigned to one of their top three choices.

As in years past, U.S. seniors constituted the majority of Match applicants, making up 58 percent of the total applicant pool. They also had the highest match rate, 93.7 percent, almost 1 percent higher than last year. Eighty-six percent were placed with one of their top three program selections.

Data from the 2005 Match was consistent with recent trends. First-year residency positions in dermatology, emergency medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery and plastic surgery are still highly desired. The Match filled at least 95 percent of these positions, and U.S. seniors accounted for roughly 80 percent of the slots. There is also rising interest in psychiatry residencies and more slots available to meet the demand.

However, family residency declined again this year. Since 2000, the number of available slots has fallen from 3,183 to 2,761. And the number of U.S. seniors matched with these positions dropped for the eighth consecutive year.

For the second year, the NRMP gave students a second chance to secure a position if they did not match with a residency program during the first round. Several days before Match announcements were made, students who were not matched worked with advisors and program directors to locate schools with available slots.

— Whitney L.J. Howell, whowell@aamc.org

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