Impact of Allopathic Medical School-Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program Affiliation on Match Patterns: A 5-Year Comparative Analysis.

Abstract

Affiliated residency programs may provide key advantages to medical students, including early exposure, mentorship, and research opportunities. This study investigates the impact of having an affiliated home residency physical medicine and rehabilitation program on match patterns in allopathic medical students. Data were gathered from publicly available match lists from allopathic medical schools. The study included 153 allopathic medical schools with 89,191 medical students from 2020 to 2024. This study found that the presence of an affiliated physical medicine and rehabilitation residency program is associated with higher proportions of students matching into physical medicine and rehabilitation (1.54% vs. 1.05%; odds ratio = 1.48; 95% confidence interval: 1.30-1.67; P < 0.001) and a higher likelihood of matching into the same geographic region as one's medical school (54.98% vs. 46.08%; odds ratio = 1.43, 95% confidence interval: 1.11-1.84; P = 0.0074). In addition, 69.41% of the allopathic students matching into physical medicine and rehabilitation came from a medical school with an affiliate, and 31.57% of the students coming from a medical school with an affiliate matched into that home program. Thus, medical schools without a physical medicine and rehabilitation residency program may benefit from initiatives that enhance specialty engagement and support for students interested in physical medicine and rehabilitation.