Issue 414 – March 15, 2024
IMGs Show Strong Performance in 2024 Match
More than 9,000 IMGs Will Join U.S. Health Care Teams
The success of IMGs in pursuing graduate medical education (GME) in the United States remains strong with significant increases in the number of physicians obtaining first-year training positions, according to the results of the 2024 Main Residency Match® (The Match®) announced Friday by the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®).
A total of 9,045 IMGs obtained first-year residency positions in accredited U.S. GME programs, an increase of 657 (7.8%) from last year, and comprising more than one-quarter of all matched applicants (25.1%). Of the IMGs matched, 3,181 are U.S. citizens, a decrease of 175 compared to last year. The number of matched non-U.S. citizen IMGs is 5,864, up 832 compared to 2023. Despite record-high applicant participation, the match rates for U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen IMGs remained steady with less than a one percentage point difference from last year, 67.0% and 58.5%, respectively. An infographic on IMG performance in the 2024 Match can be found here.
Today’s results demonstrate the critical role that IMGs continue to play across specialties; the specialties (with 30 or more filled positions) with the highest percentage of first-year positions filled by IMGs are Internal Medicine (43%), Pathology (37.4%), Family Medicine (31.8%), and Neurology (29.5%). Non-U.S. citizen IMGs saw the greatest percentage increase in matches to Emergency Medicine, more than doubling from 61 to 123, contributing to this year’s rebound in this specialty. IMGs matching to Pediatrics also increased a substantial 16.4% (730, up from 627 in 2023), notable as the specialty faced a concerning decline overall.
According to Eric S. Holmboe, MD, President and CEO of Intealth™, the continued growth of IMGs in the Match and their success in gaining these highly competitive training positions are essential as the U.S. physician workforce strives to meet the needs of a growing patient population. “I am excited that Intealth, through its rigorous evaluation of and support for IMGs, once again has contributed to an ample, diverse, and highly qualified pool of IMG applicants for residency training in the United States,” Dr. Holmboe said. “We will continue our service to the public and to the U.S. GME community by supporting these physicians as they progress in training and make critical contributions to patient care.”
About Intealth
Intealth is a private, nonprofit organization that brings together the expertise and resources for advancing quality in health care education worldwide in order to improve health care for all. Through strategic integration of its divisions, ECFMG® and FAIMER®, Intealth offers a flexible and multi‐layered portfolio of services. These services enhance and support the education and training of health care professionals, verify their qualifications required to practice, and inform the development of health workforce policies around the world. By leveraging these combined competencies of its members, Intealth powers innovation in areas critical to the health professions. Learn more at www.intealth.org.
About ECFMG Certification
ECFMG, a division of Intealth, assesses the readiness of IMGs to enter U.S. GME. The program for certifying IMGs is a rigorous process that includes passing components of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®), the same examinations required of U.S. medical school students and graduates, and demonstration of clinical and communication skills. As part of the certification process, ECFMG also verifies the authenticity of IMGs’ medical education credentials, including their medical diplomas, directly with the issuing medical schools. Only IMGs who are certified by ECFMG can enter accredited U.S. GME programs. Learn more at www.ecfmg.org/certification.
