As the NRMP wraps up its 70th anniversary celebration, we find ourselves looking toward the future and identifying ways we can independently and through partnerships continue to shape and contribute to national conversations about the transition to residency.

Match Policies.  Beginning in 2024, OB/GYN programs will utilize a new application service for residency. While the application service will change, OB/GYN applicants and programs will continue to participate in the Main Residency Match^®, ensuring optimal outcomes for all participants. To that end, this year and next, the NRMP will work closely with American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) and its application partner, Liaison International, to ensure efficient processes and data transfer protocols are in place. The NRMP also has entered into discussions with Central Application as it broadens its service offerings beyond Plastic Surgery to offer pilot testing to programs in Anesthesiology, Urology, and Neurology.

The NRMP has addressed policy issues pertaining to the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program^® (SOAP), recognizing the expansion of residency application services, and will continue to monitor/revise Match policies as needed to help applicants achieve a fair and transparent Match experience.

Match Processes. The NRMP will prioritize discussions with partners and the community that focus on potential changes to the matching process.

Alternatives to the Match:  This past June, the American Medical Association House of Delegates elected to sponsor a study examining alternatives to the Match, and the NRMP has been invited to consult on and participate in that study.  The NRMP’s participation will bring additional perspective to discussions and explorations of the perceived pain points of the Match and whether changes will significantly benefit applicants.

Match Summit:  The NRMP will convene a meeting of specialty, learner, and medical education leadership to engage in a two-day workshop exploring innovations in matching.  Attendees will delve deeper into issues like the two-phase Match and program rank order list lock functionality as well as consider the impacts of the expansion of application services in the transition and whether additional interview policies should be established. The summit promises to be a candid, thought-provoking initiative to better understand the implications of changes to The Match.

Research and Data. The NRMP is proud to be partnering with national medical education organizations over the next few years to collectively research critical themes and processes that affect the transition to residency. 

Some of the high-impact collaborations for 2024 and beyond include:

+ The Unmatched Applicant: The NRMP and partners will focus will be on developing a better understanding of the profiles of applicants who do not match to a position in the Main Residency Match. A variety of factors contributing to these profiles will be examined including demographic characteristics, applicant type, preferred specialty/specialties ranked, and ranking strategies.

+ Disruptive Legislation and Match Outcomes: An overarching goal of the NRMP is to better understand the impact of the current legal climate on the transition to residency and the physician workforce overall. To that end, investigations will explore whether patterns of ranking and matching change in specialties particularly affected by the repeal of Roe v. Wade. In particular, the NRMP and partners will seek to determine if applicants change their ranking of programs in states with restrictive provisions related to interventions such as abortion, certain methods of contraception, assisted reproduction, and gender transitions.

+ Program Ranking Behavior:  While the profiles of applicants entering the transition to residency pipeline have been increasing in diversity, changes have not yet translated to greater diversity of matched applicants.  The NRMP plans to examine programs’ stated efforts to increase the diversity of their resident cohorts, as reflected on their rank order lists, in an effort to increase transparency, inform applicant decision making, and promote positive change at the program level.