News

The National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) has released Results and Data Specialties Matching Service®, 2022 Appointment Year for physician Fellowship Matches conducted by the NRMP Specialties Matching Service (SMS®).  The report shows 13,586 active applicants (those submitting certified rank order lists of programs) competed for 12,571 fellowship positions offered by 5,436 programs, making the 2022 appointment year the largest on record.  

“I am pleased to see continued growth in the Specialties Matching Service, especially the number of active applicants, which rose 26.1 percent from 10,778 to 13,586 between 2018 and 2022. The growth in U.S. DO graduate participation in particular is even more striking at 81 percent in five years, likely due in part to the transition to a single accreditation system in 2020,” said NRMP President and CEO Donna L. Lamb, DHSc, MBA, BSN.  

The SMS report includes data on 71 subspecialties in 21 Fellowship Matches conducted in 2021 and early 2022. Because Fellowship Matches occur throughout the year, and Match appointments may begin anywhere from six to 14 months after their respective Match Days, data are reported for the appointment year instead of the Match year. The report provides insight into physician workforce trends along with five-year trend data by specialty, a state-by-state breakdown of participating programs, and match rates by applicant type.

Program Highlights

Three new subspecialties joined the SMS for 2022 appointments: Global Emergency Medicine as part of the Emergency Medicine Fellowship Match, Critical Care Medicine as part of the Medical Specialties Matching Program, and the Emergency Radiology as part of the Radiology Fellowship Match.

Other highlights:

• Of the 12,571 positions offered through the SMS, 11,078 (88.1%) were filled.
• Of the 5,436 participating programs, 4,407 (81.1%) filled all positions.
• Of the 71 participating subspecialties, 37 filled 90 percent or more of the positions offered; 21 filled less than 75 percent.
• Among specialties offering at least 30 total positions, the five with the highest percentages filled by U.S. MD graduates include Pediatric Surgery (95.3%), Gynecologic Oncology (94.6%), Reproductive Endocrinology (89.8%), Maternal-Fetal Medicine (88.2%), and Hand Surgery (87.8%).
• Among specialties offering at least 30 total positions, the five with the highest percentages filled by U.S. DO graduates include Sports Medicine (36.6%), Spinal Cord Injury (35.3%), Emergency Medical Services (27.2%), Global Emergency Medicine (22.7%), and Pain Medicine (21.5%).
• Among specialties offering at least 30 total positions, the five with the lowest percentages filled overall include Medical Genetics (44.2%), Geriatric Medicine (51.1%), Pediatric Infectious Diseases (52.4%), Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (54.2%), and Spinal Cord Injury (54.8%).

Applicant Highlights

• Of the 13,586 active applicants in the Match, 11,078 (81.5%) obtained positions.
• Participation rates increased among nearly all participant groups:
  • The number of active U.S. MD medical school graduates totaled 7,141, 319 more than last year and a 4.7 percent increase.
  • The number of active U.S. DO medical school graduates totaled 1,991, 261 more than last year and a 15.1 percent increase.
  • The number of active U.S. citizen graduates of international medical schools (IMGs) totaled 1,791, 124 more than last year and a 7.4 percent increase.
  • The number of active non-U.S. graduates of international medical schools totaled 2,619, 27 fewer than last year and a 1.0 percent decrease.

View the full Match report.