One reason why it has been more 'difficult' for applicants getting psych interviews this year...

[Blitz2006]

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1475200#qundefined

Thought I would share this interesting article published in JAMA in 2012, as I know there have been a lot of anxious threads recently regarding low interview invites.

Essentially, predicitng no more IMGs matching in 2015. So this is a trickle effect, in that what previously was easy for US MD to match into, is now becoming tougher and the spots previously filled by IMGs (such as psych), is now shifting to US MD.

Perhaps a reason why IMGs are having a tough time getting interviews this year? Not trying to fear monger, but just some food for thought.

Only time will tell, and its still early in the season.

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[thxleave]

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1475200#qundefined

Thought I would share this interesting article published in JAMA in 2012, as I know there have been a lot of anxious threads recently regarding low interview invites.

Essentially, predicitng no more IMGs matching in 2015. So this is a trickle effect, in that what previously was easy for US MD to match into, is now becoming tougher and the spots previously filled by IMGs (such as psych), is now shifting to US MD.

Perhaps a reason why IMGs are having a tough time getting interviews this year? Not trying to fear monger, but just some food for thought.

Only time will tell, and its still early in the season.

Good thought. I do agree it is getting tougher from the viewpoint of a USIMG. Though the school I went to never denied it. They even have presentations almost every few months stating you basically gotta get 230's in both USMLE exams, with first pass everything to be competitive. I do know of some people with less then that applying to FM with 10+ interviews already.

Though I do feel Psychiatry really do send invites late for USIMGs, and the panic threads will disappear come late December. It isn't isolated to just USIMG though. Went to an interview, where there DO's that stated they were worried since they only had 1-2 interviews. The one that had more then that was dual applying to AOA programs too. (Though it could just be them, seen plenty of DO's on this forum having a lot of interviews.)

For now it's nice to think about it, but I feel it's better to just for USIMG to focus on the interviews they have now... And try to do the best they can.

 

[Blitz2006]

Good thought. I do agree it is getting tougher from the viewpoint of a USIMG. Though the school I went to never denied it. They even have presentations almost every few months stating you basically gotta get 230's in both USMLE exams, with first pass everything to be competitive. I do know of some people with less then that applying to FM with 10+ interviews already.

Though I do feel Psychiatry really do send invites late for USIMGs, and the panic threads will disappear come late December. It isn't isolated to just USIMG though. Went to an interview, where there DO's that stated they were worried since they only had 1-2 interviews. The one that had more then that was dual applying to AOA programs too. (Though it could just be them, seen plenty of DO's on this forum having a lot of interviews.)

For now it's nice to think about it, but I feel it's better to just for USIMG to focus on the interviews they have now... And try to do the best they can.

Yep, and while I probably will get flamed for this, I honestly still think psychiatry is just becoming more popular as well with medical students. Just my 2 cents, but I expect 2016 NRMP match stats to confirm this upward trend.

 

[downwithDTB]

I'm not a big fan of that article, lots of speculation without considering of alternative possibilities (e.g. many hospitals are IMG dependent, less IMGs will mean they won't have doctors. alternative: the bottom US grads, of which there will be more, will end up taking these jobs out of desperation). In the article that this cites... the prediction is from the ACGME head in personal communication. Obviously, he wants more funding. However, it's curious that the 2015 match has in fact passed... and a number of IMGs got categorical slots.

A few thoughts: 1) as the number of US grads increases, especially skyrocketing numbers of DOs, Charting Outcomes really should have a US DO seniors category. 2) If you take the total number of positions offered in the match last year and subtract PGY-1 only positions and not include physician R spots... you get 25,868 nrmp + 465 optho + 278 uro + 261 Navy + 532 Airforce/Army. So best guess... there were about 27,395 slots in 2015. Given that predicted first year enrollment was 26,403, that that's the number of people starting, not finishing medical school, and that some of the new US medical schools seem to be running behind in opening, it was a pretty brash prediction on the part of the ACGME that very clearly did not pan out. Sadly, the NEJM/JAMA don't really require much fact checking in their articles apparently 3) This point of the post, however, is generally true. As the % of match slots filled by US MDs and DOs increases, it will get "more competitive." The match was designed to work when there were more slots than applicants, and it hasn't changed substantially since that time.

Also, everything will get "more popular" with US grads because there are more of them. Bottom specialties will get even more "popular" with them as people who are the "extra slots" have to go into something.

 

[Blitz2006]

I'm not a big fan of that article, lots of speculation without considering of alternative possibilities (e.g. many hospitals are IMG dependent, less IMGs will mean they won't have doctors. alternative: the bottom US grads, of which there will be more, will end up taking these jobs out of desperation). In the article that this cites... the prediction is from the ACGME head in personal communication. Obviously, he wants more funding. However, it's curious that the 2015 match has in fact passed... and a number of IMGs got categorical slots.

A few thoughts: 1) as the number of US grads increases, especially skyrocketing numbers of DOs, Charting Outcomes really should have a US DO seniors category. 2) If you take the total number of positions offered in the match last year and subtract PGY-1 only positions and not include physician R spots... you get 25,868 nrmp + 465 optho + 278 uro + 261 Navy + 532 Airforce/Army. So best guess... there were about 27,395 slots in 2015. Given that predicted first year enrollment was 26,403, that that's the number of people starting, not finishing medical school, and that some of the new US medical schools seem to be running behind in opening, it was a pretty brash prediction on the part of the ACGME that very clearly did not pan out. Sadly, the NEJM/JAMA don't really require much fact checking in their articles apparently 3) This point of the post, however, is generally true. As the % of match slots filled by US MDs and DOs increases, it will get "more competitive." The match was designed to work when there were more slots than applicants, and it hasn't changed substantially since that time.

Also, everything will get "more popular" with US grads because there are more of them. Bottom specialties will get even more "popular" with them as people who are the "extra slots" have to go into something.

Right, but I meant that statistically (as a percentage) among US MD, psychiatry is getting more popular (without taking increase in US Grads as a confounder).

 

[Jorje286]

I think we need to wait a bit to see how the season unfolds before running to conclusions. The whole doom and gloom in regards to IMGs and psychiatry seems to be vastly overstated imo. The percentage of IMGs matching (from IMG applicants) has remained steady over the last few years, even though the number of IMG applicants hasn't drastically changed either. So the whole "closing in on IMG theory" hasn't started to materialize just yet. We might see a drop this year, but it's probably not going to be something drastic. I know it's n=1, but I'm a non-US IMG with no connections and several IVs lined up in both academic and community programs.

 

[shan564]

Yep, and while I probably will get flamed for this, I honestly still think psychiatry is just becoming more popular as well with medical students. Just my 2 cents, but I expect 2016 NRMP match stats to confirm this upward trend.

Anecdotally, at my program, the number of students going into psychiatry seems to be progressively increasing. And I am at a place that is known for breeding students who lean toward the more competitive specialties. When I talk to them, many of those students are unaware of the fact that some people perceive psychiatry to be a "backup" option.