Is psychiatry competitive? How important are the USMLEs, research, med school reputation, and AOA membership for matching into psychiatry? Is psychiatry IMG-friendly? And what is the DO match rate for psychiatry programs?
In this article, you’ll learn everything about psychiatry’s competitiveness in 2022. In the process, you’ll learn what to focus on – and what not to – to maximize your chances of matching into this desirable specialty.
Summary:
- Psychiatry Overall Competitiveness: Low
- Research Importance: Low
- USMLE Importance: Low
- Importance of Attending Top 40 Med School: Low
- Importance of Class Rank / Obtaining AOA (Med School Honors): Low
Table of Contents
Is Psychiatry Competitive in 2022?
One way to assess the competitiveness of a specialty is to look at the match rate – the % of people who apply who end up matching into their preferred specialty.
Among US Seniors, the unmatched percentage was 7.8%, making it less competitive among US residencies. The match rate for psychiatry is considerably better than the most competitive specialties like plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery, or otolaryngology. It ranked 6th as the least competitive specialty in the 2022 match.
For more on the most competitive US specialties, see this article.
Psychiatry Match Rate
What is the Psychiatry match rate for US seniors, DO seniors, and IMGs? The “match rate” is the % of people who applied to a particular specialty as their preferred specialty who successfully matched into the specialty.
- US Senior Psychiatry Match Rate (2022 Match): 92.2.6%
- DO Senior Psychiatry Match Rate (2022 Match): 87%
- US IMG Psychiatry Match Rate (2022 Match): 46%
- Non-US IMG Psychiatry Match Rate (2022 Match): 46%
See below for more on matching into Psychiatry as a DO or IMG.
Psychiatry Match Statistics 2022
In 2022, there were 2,047 psychiatry positions available in the NRMP match. A total of 2,560 applicants listed it as their preferred specialty.
In the 2022 Match, psychiatry ranked #5 for most total positions offered, behind:
- Internal medicine: 9,809 positions
- Family medicine: 4,916 positions
- Pediatrics: 3,016 positions
- Emergency medicine: 2,921 positions
- Psychiatry: 2,047 positions
How Many Applicants Receive Interviews in Psychiatry?
According to the 2021 Program Director survey, each Psychiatry program received 971 applications on average. Other data include:
- Applications received (Psychiatry): 971
- Applications rejected based on standardized screen (Psychiatry): 458
- Applications receiving holistic review (Psychiatry): 403
- Interview invitations sent (Psychiatry): 100
- Applicants interviewed (Psychiatry): 91
- Applicants ranked (Psychiatry): 80
Looking at the percentages, we can see that for the 2021 Match:
- 47% of Psychiatry applications were rejected via standardized screen,
- 42% of Psychiatry applications received a holistic review,
- 10% of Psychiatry applications received an interview invitation, and
- 8% of all Psychiatry applicants were ranked to match
Psychiatry is Moderately Reliant on Screens
Psychiatry relies on standardized screens to weed out applicants. In the 2021 Program Director Survey, psychiatry PDs respondents reported that 47% of applications were rejected via standardized screen. This ranked near the middle of residencies.
USMLE Scores for Psychiatry
Step 1 scores for psychiatry for matched US seniors reflect its low competitiveness.
Psychiatry Step 1 Scores (Matched Applicants in 2022 Match):
- 25%ile: 216
- Median: 229
- 75%ile: 240
Step 1 Psychiatry Scores Are Bottom of the Road (2022 Match)
Similarly, Step 2 CK scores for psychiatry for matched US seniors reflect its low competitiveness.
Psychiatry Step 2 CK Scores (Matched Applicants in 2022 Match):
- 25%ile: 232
- Median: 242
- 75%ile: 252
Step 2 CK Psychiatry Scores Are Bottom of the Road (2022 Match)
See this article for more on USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK percentiles for each specialty and the overall percentiles.
Matching into Psychiatry as a DO
Matching into Psychiatry as a DO is less competitive, with an 87% match rate and 18% of spots filled by DO Seniors in the 2022 Match. In 2022, 435 DO seniors applied for Psychiatry; 378 matched.
Psychiatry is DO-Friendly (2022 Match)
For more on the most DO-friendly specialties, see this article.
Is Psychiatry IMG Friendly?
Psychiatry is moderately IMG-friendly, with an overall 46% match rate and 15% of spots filled by IMGs in the 2022 Match. In 2022, 390 US IMGs and 281 non-US IMGs applied to psychiatry; 178 US IMGs and 128 non-US IMGs matched.
Psychiatry is Moderately IMG-Friendly (2022 Match)
We can see that US IMGs (46%) and Non-US IMGs (46%) had equal match rates.
For Psychiatry, US IMGs (46%) and Non-US IMGs (46%) had equal match rates in the 2022 Match
Psychiatry-Friendly IMG Residency Programs
For a list of the most IMG-friendly psychiatry programs, see this article.
How Much Do Psychiatrists Make per Year? Per Hour?
Psychiatrists have an average annual salary of $287,000. This can vary dramatically based on practice setting, specialty training, and experience level.
Psychiatrists make $287,000 per year on average
However, annual salaries can be misleading. Some specialties work much more than others. Considering the estimated hours worked per year for psychiatrists, we get an estimated hourly salary of $131/hr.
Psychiatrists make roughly $131/hr on average when taking in hours worked per year
See this article for more on physician annual salaries and estimated hourly wage by specialty.
How Important is AOA for Psychiatry?
AOA – Alpha Omega Alpha – is the med school honors society. Each school may elect up to 20% of the graduating class of students.
Having AOA membership confers a greater advantage to matching into some specialties more than others. Often this AOA advantage is greatest for the most competitive specialties.
AOA membership correlated with a 6% match rate advantage for Psychiatry in the 2022 Match
In the 2022 Match, the match rate for US seniors with AOA membership was 6% greater than that of US seniors without AOA membership. AOA membership provided a moderate advantage to matching into a psychiatry residency.
A number of schools do not have AOA chapters. Even in those schools, many of them rank students against each other. Regardless of AOA status, we can see that class rank is an important factor in successfully matching into psychiatry.
For more on AOA medical schools and the importance of class rank for matching, see this article.
How Many Publications for Psychiatry Residency in 2022
Research is an important characteristic for matching into many specialties, particularly the most competitive. So, how many publications do you need to match into a psychiatry residency?
In 2022, the mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications for US seniors who matched into psychiatry was 6.2. The mean number of research experiences was 3.4.
Do I Need an MD-PhD to Match Into Psychiatry?
You may wonder how much an MD-PhD helps with matching into psychiatry. It appears that having a PhD correlates with a modest advantage of 3% when applying into psychiatry. Specifically, the match rate for those with a PhD is 3% higher than for those without one when applying into psychiatry.
Having a PhD correlated with a 3% match rate advantage for Psychiatry in the 2022 Match
Note that those with PhDs are relatively rare among psychiatry residents. In fact, only 4.6% of matched applicants into psychiatry had a PhD in 2022.
4.6% of matched applicants to Psychiatry had an MD-PhD in 2022
Should You Attend a Top Medical School to Match Into Psychiatry?
Does attending a top medical school help with matching into Psychiatry? According to the program director survey results above, 41% of Psychiatry PDs consider medical school reputation when considering whom to interview. The mean importance score was 3.7.
Similarly, we can look at the advantage of attending a school in the top 40 by NIH funding. In 2022, there was a 2% advantage in match rate for those attending a school in the top 40 for NIH funding vs. those who did not.
Graduating from a medical school ranked in the top 40 by NIH funding correlated with a 2% match rate advantage for Psychiatry in the 2022 Match
Does an MPH or MBA Help Match Into Psychiatry?
Medical training is long. Despite this, many consider – or complete – other degrees, like MPH’s or MBA’s.
But how much of an advantage – or disadvantage – does an MPH (Master of Public Health) or MBA (Master of Business Administration) confer when applying into psychiatry? Not much, it turns out. In fact, the match rate for US seniors with other degrees was 2% lower than the rate for those with no other degrees.
These statistics imply that having a second degree that isn’t a PhD doesn’t appear to help your chances of matching into psychiatry, and may even hurt them (slightly).
Having another degree like an MBA or MPH correlated with a -2% match rate disadvantage for Psychiatry in the 2022 Match
What Are the Best Psychiatry Programs?
While psychiatry may be less competitive, the most desirable programs will always be extremely difficult to enter. So which are the best psychiatry residency programs?
Opinions will vary. However, some of the most desirable psychiatry residency programs would include:
- University of Pittsburg
- Yale University
- University of California- San Francisco
- University of Pennsylvania
- Washington University
- Columbia University
Concluding Thoughts
So how competitive is psychiatry in 2022? Based on the statistics, low competitiveness. It is not among the most competitive specialties like plastic surgery or orthopedic surgery. Nor does it require huge amounts of research or extra credentials like an AOA membership or an Ivy League education to match.
That said, psychiatry is still highly competitive, particularly for the most desirable programs. While it is true for all specialties, USMLE scores – and particularly Step 2 CK – will be emphasized moving forward, particularly given how reliant psychiatry is on standardized screens to weed out applicants.
To learn more about how to master – not memorize – for impressive USMLE scores and higher class rankings, sign up for a free consultation. You can learn more about how Yousmle can help you to make the most of your time, to excel in your classes, Board exams, and the extracurriculars that are critical to matching.
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