Philadelphia, PA. The National Board of Osteopathic Examiners (NBOME) watched in excitement alongside thousands of applicants and residency programs participating in the National Resident Matching Program’s (NRMP®) 2019 Main Residency Match® as they learned which residency program they will complete their medical specialty training at for the next three to seven years. We are thrilled to recognize 2019 as the largest match in NRMP history, with both the largest pool of registered applicants, (44,603 registered applicants), vying for the highest number of positions (35,185 total positions) since the NRMP Match began.
With the ongoing transition to a single accreditation system for graduate medical education (GME) programs, 4,780 residency programs and 6,001 DO students and graduates joined the NRMP Match this year. Since the transition to a single GME system began in 2015, the number of U.S. osteopathic medical school students and graduates seeking positions through the NRMP Match has risen by 3,052 — a dramatic 103 percent increase. This year 5,076 DO students and graduates matched successfully matched to first year positions – an 84.6% match rate – up 2.9% from last year.
In addition to the DO students and graduates who matched in last week’s NRMP Match, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) reported last month that 1,276 DO students and graduates matched to residency positions in the final AOA 2019 Match. The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) will report on all match placements by osteopathic applicants on its website in mid-April.
“Record-setting 2019 NRMP Match results for DO applicants, in addition to successful placements in the Specialty Fellowship Program Match and AOA Match, truly clarify the widespread recognition of DOs and their highly valued qualifications and competencies in ACGME programs,” shared John R. Gimpel, DO, MEd, President & CEO of NBOME.
The move to a single accreditation system is an exciting time of growth and change for all in the medical education community. The NBOME congratulates residency programs on their new incoming residents, and in welcoming these students and graduates to the next step in their careers.
About The NBOME
The NBOME is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit assessment organization committed to protecting the public by providing the means to assess competencies for osteopathic medicine and related health care professions. NBOME’s COMLEX-USA examination series is a requirement for graduation from colleges of osteopathic medicine and provides the pathway to licensure for osteopathic physicians in the United States and numerous international jurisdictions. For more information, visit www.nbome.org or call 866-479-6828.
The Match Process
For applicants, the Main Residency Match process begins in the fall during the final year of medical school, when they apply to the residency programs of their choice. Throughout the fall and early winter, applicants interview with programs. From mid-January to late February, applicants and program directors rank each other in order of preference and submit the preference lists to NRMP, which processes them using a computerized mathematical algorithm to match applicants with programs. Research on the NRMP algorithm was a basis for awarding The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 2012.
About NRMP
The National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) is a private, non-profit organization established in 1952 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 almost 44,000 registrants, the NRMP conducts Fellowship Matches for more than 60 subspecialties through its Specialties Matching Service® (SMS®).