Obstetrics and gynecology helped to make the 2018 Main Residency Match the largest ever as the specialty increased residency slots by 3.7% and accepted 3.3% more applicants, compared with 2017, according to the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).
Ob.gyn. brought 1,336 first-year positions to the Match Day party this year and filled 78.7% of them with U.S. graduates. The overall fill rate of 99.6% is actually down from last year, when the specialty managed to fill all 1,288 positions offered. For all specialties, U.S. graduates filled 58.7% of the record-high 30,232 available spots, and the overall fill rate was 96.1%, the NRMP said in its 2018 Main Residency Match report.
The 2018 Match also set new highs for total positions offered (up 4.4% over last year), total (up 4.7%) and first-year positions (up 4.9%) filled, and total applicants (up 1.7%). “The results of the Match are closely watched because they can be predictors of future physician workforce supply. There also is significant interest in the competitiveness of specialties, as measured by the percentage of positions filled overall and the percentage filled by senior students in U.S. allopathic medical schools,” the NRMP said.
