The MATCH
As the Graduate Medical Education community reengages in hybrid and in-person interview practices, Germane Solutions, and many others, entered the 2023 recruitment season with curiosity regarding how this would impact the National Resident Matching Program’s (NRMP) MATCH in a post-pandemic space. Some key benefits of virtual interviews in recent years have included decreased costs for applicants and programs alike and increased access to interviews; however, virtual interviews have also presented challenges. Specifically, there has been a significant decrease in the ability to showcase aspects of the program that are most compelling in person, such as the physician space, community, and culture of the program. Despite this uncertainty, we have continued to see an upward trend in total positions offered. This year’s MATCH was composed of 48,156 registered applicants, 42,952 applicants certifying rank order lists, and offered 40,375 positions (the largest offering pool to date with an increase of 3% since the 2022 Match). Of these 40,375 available positions, 93.3% were filled, indicating a .9% decrease from 2022. This information is displayed below and can be viewed here.
The MATCH rate for U.S. MD Seniors was 93.7% for PGY-1, which is a 0.8% increase from the previous year. The MATCH rate for U.S. DO Seniors was 91.6% for PGY-1, which is a 0.3% increase from the previous year. This information is displayed below and can be viewed here.
Some other important highlights to note are that there were 183 more programs participating in the MATCH, and 571 more positions offered in Primary Care as compared to the previous year.
One notable and troubling statistic that emerged this year was the significant number of unfilled positions in Emergency Medicine. There was a total of 3,010 positions offered, 2,765 applicants, and 554 unfilled positions. That means that compared to 2022, there were 89 new positions offered but 316 fewer applicants. When tracing the data back another year, it is evident there was an even larger reduction in the number of applicants between academic year 2021 and 2022, with 653 fewer applicants than the previous year. This shift from an annual increase to an annual decrease in applicant numbers occurred after the 2020-2021 MATCH season. However, it is important to remember that there was regionality in the fill rates, with some areas seeing significantly higher fill rates for available Emergency Medicine positions. Additionally, data for the 2023 Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) has not yet been released and will likely impact the number of positions that enter the 2023 academic year unfilled.
Germane Solutions’ Contribution
Germane Solutions remains committed to providing support to our clients throughout the program planning, application, and interview/MATCH processes. Our goal is to help our clients achieve institutional and program accreditation and support lucrative recruitment and interview seasons.
Through these efforts in 2022, Germane Solutions was able to help establish 21 new programs, producing a combined total of 371 newly created and approved positions. By guiding clients through intentional resident/fellow recruitment and selection practices, in conjunction with the creation of quality training programs, Germane Solutions is fortunate to have played a significant role in the 2023 MATCH.
Below is a list of the total positions Germane Solutions assisted in creating during Academic Year 2022-2023 (to date):
In the coming months and years, Germane Solutions’ focus will remain on combatting the physician shortage, including expanding primary care residency programs across the nation.
Germane Solutions congratulates the programs and up-and-coming GME trainees that participated and found success in the 2023 MATCH.