'Match Day' 2015 Residency Results & Update: What is it About?

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Friday, March 20, 2015 was "Match Day" for tens of thousands of Medical school students in the U.S. The graduating students were assigned to residency programs by the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) where they would then practice under the supervision of attending physicians.

The 2015 main residency match is the largest on record with 41,334 applicants for 30,212 positions in 4,756 programs, according to NRMP. Mona M. Signer, NRMP president and chief executive officer, told Medscape Medical News that "It's also great news that we had more primary care positions in the match and that more US seniors matched to primary care." She also noted that it is a very positive trend.   

Dr. William Eley, executive associate dean for Medical Education and Student Affairs at Emory University School of Medicine, said that for medical students, finding out where they are going to spend their residency is a memorable day in life, notes the Emory News Center.

Dr. Michael L. Good, dean of the College of Medicine, also told the Insider that for students, "Each of you will remember this day among the greatest moments in your lives."

The tedious process of matching students to programs starts with medical school seniors applying for the residency programs. After processing the applications, the applicants are interviewed and requested to make a list of programs in the order of their preferences. Meanwhile programs make a ranked list of interviewed applicants based on their preferences, reports the Business Insider India.

The applicants are then matched to the programs with the help of the 2012 Noble Prize-winning matching algorithm designed by Dr. Lloyd Shapely and Dr. Alvin Roth. In the matching process using the algorithm, no applicant and program are not matched with each other and vice versa, provided the program is mentioned on the applicant's preference list, noted the Business Insider India.

About 16,932 U.S. allopathic seniors were matched to first-year positions among 18,025 program applicants for an overall match rate of 93.9 per cent. About 51 percent of the U.S. medical senior students were matched to their first choice of residency program, noted the Medscape Medical News.

Signer said that "I think the notable thing is there are still plenty of positions for graduates of US medical schools; there is not a shortage. We are talking about 18,000 seniors of US allopathic medical schools who submitted lists of programs, and there were more than 27,000 positions in the Match", reported the Medscape Medical News.