The following is a summary of “10-Year analysis of application and match rates for pain medicine training in the United States,” published in the April 2024 issue of Pain by Silvestre et al.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study evaluating the number of people applying for pain medicine training in the U.S. with high hopes for more training spots than applicants, more U.S. allopathic graduates matching relative to non-U.S. allopathic graduates, and more unfilled spots over time. 

They used the National Resident Matching Program over a ten-year period (2014-2023). Match rates and applicant-to-position ratios and how they changed over time were calculated using linear regression. The resulting data was compared using chi-square tests. 

The results showed that over the years, training positions (261 to 377) grew more than interested applicants (398 to 415) (44% and 4% respectively, P<0.001). The ratio of annual applicants to positions dropped (1.5 to 1.1 P<0.001). The U.S. allopathic graduates in pain medicine decreased over the study period (73% to 58%, P<0.001), while US osteopathic graduates increased (9% to 28%, P<0.001). Match rates rose for both US allopathic (71% to 91%, P<0.001) and non-US allopathic (51% to 81%, P<0.001) grads. From 2018 to 2023, US allopathic graduates had higher match rates (79%) than U.S. osteopathic (60%, P<0.001) and international graduates (57%, P<0.001). Unfilled training positions increased over the study period (2% to 5%, P=0.006).

Investigators concluded that increasing positions and the number of applicants means more people are getting into pain medicine training. However, fewer US allopathic graduates are interested, leaving unfilled training spots, the reasons for which must be further investigated. 

Source: academic.oup.com/painmedicine/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/pm/pnae026/7645408