Record number of DO students and graduates secure residency placements through 2022 NRMP Match

Reaching a nearly 7% increase from the 2021 Match, the 2022 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) matched 7,049 osteopathic medical students and past DO graduates into postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residency positions, an all-time high. Reaching yet another high, 91.3% of the 7,303 participating DO students matched into residency programs in 41 specialties, the most specialties ever recorded for DO Match Day placements, with 38 reported in the 2021 Match.

Overall, the number of osteopathic fourth-year students who matched into PGY1 positions increased by 5.4% from last year. Final placement numbers will be available in May and are expected to exceed the 99% rate reported in prior years.

‘Continued growth of osteopathic medicine’

“The success of our DO students and graduates in this year’s Match is an exciting indicator of the continued growth of osteopathic medicine and the remarkable quality of the osteopathic physicians entering the health care community,” said AOA President Joseph A. Giaimo, DO. “I could not be prouder of where our profession is heading and know the future looks bright in the hands of these promising residents.”

A total of 3,757 (56.4%) matching students landed positions in primary care programs, while the remaining 2,909 (43.6%) DO fourth-year students who matched secured non-primary care placements across a wide range of specialties. This year’s Match saw increases in DO students matching into family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics. Specialties that saw an increase in DO placements this year include diagnostic radiology, neurology, neurosurgery, obstetrics-gynecology, orthopedic surgery, pathology and psychiatry.

Additionally, a record number of 302 graduating osteopathic fourth-year students and 76 graduates placed via the military match, which places applicants into programs run or sponsored by the military.

“We could not be more thrilled that our osteopathic medical students and graduates continue to succeed in the NRMP Match,” said AOA CEO Kevin M. Klauer, DO, EJD. “This year’s exceptionally high match rate demonstrates that osteopathic medical students are not only being welcomed into postgraduate programs across the full spectrum of specialties, but they are being actively sought out for the distinctive perspective and approach they bring to the practice of medicine.”

Top 15 specialty areas for the 2022 Match

For graduating fourth-year osteopathic medical students, the top 15 specialties by number of PGY1 matches are:

1. Internal Medicine
2. Family Medicine
3. Emergency Medicine
4. Pediatrics
5. Psychiatry
6. Transitional year
7. Anesthesiology
8. OB-GYN
9. Surgery
10. Internal medicine-preliminary year
11. Neurology
12. Orthopedic surgery
13. Pathology
14. Surgery-preliminary year
15. Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Related reading:

5 things you can do to prepare for residency before the first day

Cracking the Match: Everything a current (or future) residency applicant needs to know about the Match algorithm