2018 Match List analysis - Part 2 of 2
So in our strongest specialty at UMKC (in terms of higher level of exposure to IM, esp. at the Years 3-6 level), which is Internal Medicine, ON AVERAGE our students this year matched into mainly middle-tier (some strong middle-tier) and lower-tier institutions. In the past, as was this year, we have had 1-2 students (usually the top students academically but not always) in a particular year match into top-tier places like Mayo and Wash U for IM who know the performance of our graduates well in their residency – notice that both are in the Midwest. If we do get an IM match into a top program in the East Coast it tends to be Beth Israel Deaconess (vs. Mass General and Brigham & Womens). Keep in mind, in comparison to traditional graduates, we do 4 more months of inpatient Internal Medicine than everyone else, not including our weekly half-day ambulatory IM clinics for 4 years, at which other schools, at most, do one month of ambulatory clinic. I think this confuses people, since the amount of Internal Medicine education we get at UMKC is much more when compared to other medical schools, so you’d think that we’d be matching more people into top-tier IM institutions easily in this field, since we get the added exposure and maybe greater confidence that students at other schools don’t get heading into IM. Of course, it’s much more complicated than this, which I won’t go into here, but clearly just having more student curricular exposure is not the only factor in selection for the top-tier IM residency programs, or it’s not enough on its own to justify taking someone, as that’s what residency training is for, in which the learning curve is very steep and thus people catch up quickly. Most people going for IM tend to go with the intention of becoming subspecialists thru fellowship - Cardiology, GI, Heme/Onc, Allergy, etc. although people also can become hospitalists as well.
For Pediatrics, most students matched into middle-tier and quite a few lower-tier Pediatrics residency programs, with one top-tier program match (that person being a top student academically). In Peds, the rate of subspecializing after residency is different, as the income factor discrepancy isn’t as pronounced in the Peds world from generalist to specialist, as it can sometimes be in the IM world.
We had a lot more people match into Psychiatry than in previous past match lists, but that’s probably more indicative of this particular class. Quite a few decided to stay at UMKC’s Psychiatry program. Most matched programs are low-middle/low tier programs w/the exception of one Beth Israel Deaconness match by an academically top student.
Only 3 people matched into OB-Gyn this year, probably more indicative of this particular class, 1 match at UMKC, the others at lower tier programs. Our OB-Gyn home residency program doesn’t have too many home subspecialty fellowships, compared to other places, similar to our General Surgery program.
As is pretty typical for our student match lists, very few in total of our students go for surgery, whether that’s general surgery or the surgical subspecialties, for a total of 15 this year, as our school’s overall emphasis is much more on Internal Medicine (thru the Docent system) and primary care specialties (Family Medicine and Pediatrics). Our only surgical residencies we have at UMKC are General Surgery and Orthopedic Surgery. All others Urology, ENT, Plastics, Neurosurgery, you will be dependent on outside institutions for matching into that field. In General Surgery, most of our matches were in lower-tier gen surgery programs w/1 military match. Orthopedic Surgery - 4 matches, all middle tier/lower tier programs. For ENT, that student specifically took a year off for research, & matched at the closest ENT program at KU.
In terms of the more ancillary specialties: Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Ophtho, Anesthesiology, Derm, PM&R, etc., some of the matches that were in the more competitive specialties in that list were those who voluntarily took time off from medical school to do research in that specialty in order to increase their chances of matching (although it’s not a guarantee) or were top students academically to even be in the running. This is much different in non-low tier schools where it’s not necessary to be the top student academically to still have a shot.
Ophtho – 4 matches all in lower-tier Ophtho programs
Derm — 3 matches, all AOA, one non-BA/MD student who took 2 years off for research
Rad Onc — 1 match, Junior AOA
We do not have home residency programs in Radiation Oncology, Derm, and PM&R. Radiology, has gotten much less competitive over the years in terms of matching (it used to be almost on par with Derm in terms of competiveness about 10 years ago), so accordingly, our match lists have opened up to more people being able to match into Rads coming from UMKC. Interventional Radiology is a relatively new residency in the match (it used to be a fellowship after Diagnostic Radiology) and is much different in competitiveness than Diagnostic Radiology (it’s more competitive for now), so not surprisingly, the match was by an academically top student at a top tier place. We do have a Radiology department at UMKC.
There was only 1 who matched only into the first year of internship (preliminary year or transitional year), to where often they are given military orders to only match into internship, at least initially. They tend to go thru the Military Match or re-enter the NRMP match later for their actual residency.
I would say overall for this year’s match list, taking into account the overall breadth & variety of specialties matched into (including specific individual matches from those in the prior year’s class who took a year off for research), residency program institutional caliber even for the non-competitive specialties, geographical distribution, I would say this year’s match list overall is a little below average compared to previous years’ match lists for UMKC. Keep in mind that UMKC Med has always been a smaller, lower-tier medical school so the spectrum of specialties/programs that a student is able to match into coming from here (even with taking a year off for research) will be different than medical schools that are middle-tier/solid middle-tier and in the top-tier.