Internal medicine is the top choice for IMGs
Let us try to understand why the Internal medicine residency in the USA is so attractive for many IMGs. The statistics are the key.
Latest Match offered 10261 categorical positions. Around 4200 US MDs and 2200 US DOs applied to categorical positions.
So, just around 6400 positions potentially can be filled by US MDs and DOs.
As result, at least 3800 positions must be filled by IMGs to make the U.S. healthcare system functioning properly.
Additionally, Internal medicine is not the main target for many US MDs and DOs.
Finally, only around 5400 positions were filled by US graduates with around 4800 positions left for IMGs.
Such a large number of positions offered for IMGs makes Internal medicine one of the best choices for international medical graduates.
More than 6000 IMGs apply for Internal medicine residency each year and around 5000 have interviews and participate in the Match.
IM is twice more popular among non-US IMGs.
The match rate among interviewed applicants is 56% for US IMGs and 59% for non-US IMGs.
The probability of the match for interviewed applicants starts from 20% (30% US IMGs) for candidates with ~220 Step 2 and increases to 85% (95% US IMGs) for candidates with Step 2 > 250.
Matching just preliminary year is risky because of visa and repeating year funding problems Here are the best internal medicine residencies for international medical graduates by number of friendly positions:
