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News
Interactive demographic data reporting to inform the national conversation about applicant Match experience, biases in residency recruitment, and improvements to the transition to residency.
The National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) has published its first-ever Charting Outcomes™: Demographic Characteristics of Applicants in the Main Residency Match from the 2022 and 2023 Main Residency Matches.
The NRMP’s interactive report represents the first among medical education organizations to take a comprehensive look at applicant demographic data characteristics as they relate specifically to preferred medical specialty choice and Match outcomes. The first release of the interactive report generates comprehensive demographic profiles for applicants in 41 medical specialties and encourages users to explore interactive data visualizations. Unique data collection variables include childhood urbanicity and first-generation college status.
“While other organizations routinely report on applicant characteristics with respect to medical school enrollment, residency application and recruitment, and the medical profession, the NRMP’s collection of applicant demographic data helps broaden the national conversation to identify how applicant characteristics are associated with preferred specialty choice and Match outcomes,” says NRMP President and CEO Donna L. Lamb, DHSc, MBA, BSN. “This effort by the NRMP establishes vital and nuanced insight into the UME and GME transition and where potential biases may reside.”
NRMP’s objectives for collecting and making available applicant demographic data include
- gaining a better understanding of the composition of residency applicant populations and how current residency recruitment practices may lead to biases;
- analyzing how choices are made about applicants by clinical training programs, how choice may change during the transition to residency, and the implications for diversity, equity, inclusion of physicians in training; and
- disseminating findings in order to increase transparency of the recruitment and selection of resident physicians and inform improvements to the transition to residency.
“This is an important milestone in a new and critical direction for the NRMP,” continues Dr. Lamb. “Collection of demographic data supports NRMP’s strategic plan to pursue a robust research agenda, optimize the Match experience for participants, and advance the organization’s mission to provide meaningful and transparent data on Match outcomes and workforce trends.”
Demographic characteristics about which applicants were asked include
- sex assigned at birth;
- sexual orientation;
- race and ethnicity;
- urbanicity of childhood rearing environment;
- childhood socioeconomic background;
- first-generation graduation from college;
- first-generation graduation from medical school;
- disability status; and
- accommodations requested and received in medical school.
The sample size of applicants who consented to provide demographic data for research in 2022 and 2023 was 70,922, which equals 86.4 percent of active Main Residency Match applicants those years. To ensure applicant confidentiality, only those characteristics that yielded large enough response sizes are included in the report.
The initial version of the report includes data for applicants who obtained categorical PGY-1 and advanced PGY-2 positions during the Main Residency Matches and the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program® (SOAP®). An expanded version of the report will be released by the end of May and will include data for applicants who preferred or obtained preliminary PGY-1 positions as well as the ability to filter data by position type. By the end of June, additional visualizations showing SOAP outcomes will be available.
With each Match year, the report will grow to provide more in-depth exploration of demographic differences and disparities in both the composition of specialties and characteristics of applicants who obtained positions in the Match and SOAP. The NRMP also has initiated applicant demographic data collection for Fellowship Matches as part of its Specialties Matching Service®. A report of those data will be published later this year.
Soliciting Feedback. The NRMP welcomes feedback on the initial version of Charting Outcomes™: Demographic Characteristics of Applicants in the Main Residency Match. Email feedback to datarequest@nrmp.org.
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About NRMP
The National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) is a private, non-profit organization established in 1953 to oversee The Match® 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 48,000 registrants, the NRMP also conducts Fellowship Matches for more than 70 subspecialties through its Specialties Matching Service® (SMS®).
To schedule an interview with NRMP President and CEO Donna L. Lamb, DHSc, contact media@nrmp.org.