NRMP Celebrates the Thousands of Resident Physicians Matched into Fellowship Training Positions Through NRMP's 2024 Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match

NRMP releases results for the 2024 Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) proudly announces that more than 8,000 resident physicians have successfully secured fellowship training positions through its 2024 Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match.

The 2024 Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match, the largest of the Fellowship Matches managed by the NRMP as part of its Specialties Matching Service®, encompassed 39 subspecialties in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics as well as addiction and other multidisciplinary subspecialties.  This year's Match builds on the success from last year by expanding to include Interventional Cardiology. It featured 3,709 programs submitting certified rank order lists, a seven percent increase in the number of programs over 2023. Fellowship programs collectively offered 9,649 positions, a six percent increase, and 581 more positions than the previous year. Of these positions, 8,313 were filled (86.2%). The number of applicants certifying a rank order list for the Match totaled 10,255, a rise of nine percent (n=833) over last year.

"This year's Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match demonstrates NRMP's ongoing commitment to support a diverse range of subspecialties that appeal to residents seeking sub-specialization to meet the healthcare needs of patients nationwide," said Donna L. Lamb, DHSc, MBA, BSN, NRMP President and CEO. "The steady growth in participation we see over the years reflects not only increased interest in specialized care but also the strength and efficiency of the NRMP's matching process to meet the needs of subspecialties and feed the physician pipeline."

Highlights for Specialties
The Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match routinely includes participation from a varied group of specialties and programs. For its first Match, Interventional Cardiology was represented by 156 programs offering 326 positions.  The subspecialty filled 272 positions earning a 83.4 percent fill rate. Notably, U.S. MD graduates and non-U.S.-citizen international medical graduates (IMGs) comprised nearly three-fourths (71%) of matched applicants in the specialty.

Other Highlights:

• Internal Medicine specialties included 2,238 programs offering 6,486 certified positions. Of those, 5,823 positions were filled. The 89.8 percent fill rate reflects a 1.4 percentage point increase over last year. Medicine specialties offering at least 150 certified positions and filling over 98 percent of those positions include
  • Cardiovascular Disease (1,262 certified positions; 99.8 percent fill rate)
  • Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology (152 certified positions; 98 percent fill rate)
  • Endocrinology (386 certified positions; 98.4 percent fill rate)
  • Gastroenterology (727 certified positions; 99.6 percent fill rate)
  • Hematology and Oncology (773 certified positions; 99.7 percent fill rate)
  • Rheumatology (287 certified positions; 99.0 percent fill rate)
• Pediatric specialties included 937 programs offering 1,975 positions.  Of those, 1,530 positions were filled. The 77.5 percent fill rate reflects a 1.7 percentage point decrease compared to last year. Pediatric specialties offering at least 150 positions and filling over 98 percent of those positions include
  • Pediatric Critical Care (225 certified positions; 98.7 percent fill rate)
• Allergy and Immunology included 102 programs offering 167 certified positions. Of those, 165 positions filled for a 98.8 percent fill rate.

Highlights for Applicants

Of the 10,255 applicants who certified a rank order list in this year's Medicine and Pediatrics Match, 8,313 (81.1 percent) successfully matched to a position.  The applicant match rate reflects a .9 percentage point decrease from last year, likely driven in part by the robust rise in the number of certified applicants participating in the Match. Increases in Match participation were evident across all the primary applicant groups:

• 4,609 certified graduates of MD medical schools, 242 more than last year. 
  • Of the 4,609 MD graduates in the Match, 4,130 matched, an increase of 165.
• 1,541 certified graduates of DO medical schools, 184 more than last year.
  • Of the 1,541 DO graduates in the Match, 1,218 matched, an increase of 142.
• 1,553 certified U.S. citizen international medical graduates (IMG), 136 more than last year.
  • Of the 1,553 U.S. citizen IMGs in the Match, 1,042 matched, an increase of 92.
• 2,533 certified non-U.S. citizen international medical graduates, 265 more than last year.
  • Of the 2,533 non-U.S. citizen IMGs in the Match, 1,905 matched, an increase of 186.

Notable Trends

• The percentage matched from the primary applicant groups (MD graduates - 90 percent; DO graduates - 79 percent; non-U.S. IMGs - 75 percent; U.S. IMGs - 67 percent) was largely unchanged from last year.
  • MD graduates are the most matched applicant group. They represent 45 percent of matches across all Medicine specialties and nearly two-thirds (61.5 percent) of matches across all Pediatric specialties.
  • Non-U.S. citizen IMGs carried more than a quarter (27 percent) of all matches in Medicine specialties.  At 16 percent, DO graduates were the second most matched applicant group across Pediatric specialties.
• Geriatric Medicine has recently experienced declines in position fill rates; however, in the 2024 Match, the fill rate for Geriatric Medicine (both Family Medicine and Internal Medicine) increased from 41.5 percent to 44 percent.
• Adult Infectious Disease offered 450 certified positions and 70.2 percent of those positions filled.  This represents an increase of 2.9 percentage points over last year, though not a return to pre-Covid fill rates. In contrast, Pediatric Infectious Disease remained flat this year, offering 89 certified positions and earning a 48.3 percent position fill rate, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from last year.
• Addiction Medicine included 234 certified positions, filling 66.7 percent (156) of those positions, a 7.2 percentage point increase over last year. Addiction Psychiatry offered 104 certified positions. Of those, 61 filled for a 58.7 percent fill rate, a 7.9 percentage point increase over last year.

View the 2024 Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match Statistics Report for information on each participating subspecialty

About Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match
The 2024 Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match included 17 Internal Medicine subspecialties, 17 Pediatric subspecialties, as well as 3 multidisciplinary specialties, and 2 Addiction specialties. This year marks the third year since the former "Medical Specialties Matching Program" and "Pediatric Specialties Match" combined into the "Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match". Combining these Matches allows applicants greater flexibility in pursuing subspecialty training since they can rank both Medicine and Pediatric specialties on the same rank order list. It also provides greater freedom for applicant pairs interested in Medicine and Pediatric subspecialties to pursue training as a couple.

About NRMP
The National Resident Matching Program^® (NRMP^®) is a private, non-profit organization established in 1953 to oversee The Match^®. The Match was established at the request of medical students to provide an orderly and fair mechanism for matching the preferences of applicants for U.S. residency positions with the preferences of residency program directors. In addition to the annual Main Residency Match^® for more than 50,000 registrants, the NRMP also conducts Fellowship Matches for more than 75 subspecialties through its Specialties Matching Service^® (SMS^®).

For additional information or to schedule an interview with NRMP President and CEO Donna L. Lamb, DHSc, MBA, BSN, contact [email protected].

SOURCE National Resident Matching Program