Are you wondering how IMG-friendly (or unfriendly) interventional radiology is as a US medical specialty? Do you want to know your chances of matching in this highly competitive field? Would you love to figure out what interventional radiology programs an IMG would stand the best chance?
This article will give you the most up-to-date information on IMG-friendly interventional radiology programs. Use this information to strategize on whether – and where – to apply to maximize your chances of matching as an IMG in interventional radiology.
Summary:
- Interventional radiology is among the least IMG-friendly US medical specialties.
- Only 2 interventional radiology residency programs filled their positions with IMGs.
- These programs also had low IMG rates: Cornell (8%) and Pennsylvania (7%).
- See the full list of searchable residency programs to strategize where IMGs have recently been the most welcome.
- Be sure to bookmark this page – and sign up for the newsletter – to keep up with the latest residency and USMLE trends and maximize your chances of matching.
Table of Contents
What is an IMG Again?
Let’s start with some definitions.
IMG: International Medical Graduate
- You attended a medical school outside of the United States and Canada
US- vs. Non-US IMGs
IMGs consist of two sub-groups:
- US-IMGs: US Citizens or permanent residents who attended a “foreign” medical school. Example: someone born in the US but went to a Caribbean medical school (a non-US school).
- Non-US IMGs: Non-US citizens or permanent residents who attended a “foreign” medical school. Example: someone born in South Korea, who does not have US citizenship or a green card, and who went to medical school in South Korea.
NRMP: “National Resident Matching Program®”
- The organization that administers the “Match.” In the Match, the NRMP pairs residency applicants with a residency program.
Note that “International Medical Graduate” (IMG) refers to the medical school you attended. Thus, a foreign citizen who attends a US medical school is NOT an IMG. However, a US citizen attending a med school outside the US would be considered an IMG. (Technically, s/he would be a US IMG).
For more on how IMGs can attain residency in the US, see The IMG’s Guide to Obtaining Residency in the United States (2022).
Interventional Radiology is Not Very IMG-Friendly
Looking at the percentage of spots filled by IMGs in the 2022 Match, we can see interventional radiology was not IMG-friendly. Interventional radiology was one of two specialties that had the lowest proportion of positions filled by IMGs.
Similarly, the match rate for IMGs in interventional radiology is among the lowest of all the specialties in the 2022 Match:
Here are the same data represented in a table:
| % Spots Filled by IMGs | % Spots Filled by US IMGs | % Spots Filled by non-US IMGs | Total Positions Offered | Total # All Applicants | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anesthesiology | 8% | 3% | 4% | 1,969 | 2,560 |
| Child Neurology | 15% | 4% | 11% | 188 | 182 |
| Dermatology | 3% | 1% | 1% | 544 | 834 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 8% | 2% | 6% | 1,155 | 1,568 |
| Emergency Medicine | 7% | 6% | 1% | 2,921 | 2,813 |
| Family Medicine | 21% | 13% | 8% | 4,916 | 5,055 |
| General Surgery | 9% | 3% | 5% | 1,622 | 2,400 |
| Internal Medicine | 36% | 9% | 25% | 9,809 | 11,598 |
| Internal Medicine/Pediatrics | 5% | 2% | 2% | 392 | 458 |
| Interventional Radiology | 2% | 0% | 2% | 169 | 226 |
| Neurological Surgery | 8% | 1% | 7% | 240 | 379 |
| Neurology | 25% | 5% | 18% | 1,014 | 1,249 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | 5% | 2% | 3% | 1,503 | 2,044 |
| Orthopaedic Surgery | 2% | 1% | 1% | 875 | 1,435 |
| Otolaryngology | |||||
| Pathology | 41% | 7% | 31% | 631 | 827 |
| Pediatrics | 18% | 7% | 11% | 3,016 | 3,153 |
| Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | 6% | 2% | 3% | 532 | 725 |
| Plastic Surgery | 6% | 1% | 4% | 194 | 340 |
| Psychiatry | 15% | 7% | 6% | 2,047 | 2,560 |
| Radiation Oncology | 11% | 5% | 7% | 185 | 162 |
| Vascular Surgery | 7% | 0% | 7% | 84 | 143 |
For more on the most IMG-friendly medical specialties, see this article.
The Most IMG-Friendly Interventional Radiology Residency Programs
Interventional radiology residency programs are not very IMG-friendly. For example, only 2 interventional radiology residency programs in the most recent GME census filled a proportion of their available positions with IMGs. These programs are the New York Presbyterian Hospital Program (8%) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System Program (7%).
Here is a list of the most (and least) IMG-friendly interventional radiology programs. It includes data from the most recent National GME Census Survey. Percentages are of all residents in the program in 2020.
| ACGME residency program code | Residency program name | City | State | % residents IMG (US + Non-US) | % residents US-citizen IMGs | % residents non-US-citizen IMGs | % residents US MD graduates | % residents US DO graduates | Program consider applicants with J-1 visa? | Program consider applicants with H-1B visa? | Program consider applicants with F-1 Visa (OPT 1st year)? | # categorical positions offered (2021 NRMP Main Match) | # categorical positions filled (2021 NRMP Main Match) | # advanced positions offered (2021 NRMP Main Match) | # advanced positions filled by (2021 NRMP Main Match) | # applications submitted (2021 NRMP Main Match) | % applicants interviewed (2020 NRMP Main Match) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4163500007 | New York Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell Campus) Program | New York | NY | 8 | 0 | 8 | 92 | 0 | Yes | No | No | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 152 | 29.8 |
| 4164100002 | University of Pennsylvania Health System Program | Philadelphia | PA | 7 | 7 | 0 | 93 | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 177 | 21.9 |
| 4160100001 | University of Alabama Hospital Program | Birmingham | AL | 0 | No | No | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 103 | 42.7 | ||||
| 4161000001 | MedStar Health/Georgetown University Hospital Program | Washington | DC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 8 | Yes | No | No | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 189 | 15.4 |
| 4161000002 | George Washington University School of Medicine Program | Washington | DC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| 4161100001 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (Jacksonville) Program | Jacksonville | FL | 0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 17.3 | ||||
| 4162500004 | Henry Ford Hospital Program | Detroit | MI | 0 | Yes | No | No | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 116 | 29.9 | ||||
| 4162500005 | Spectrum Health/Michigan State University Program | Grand Rapids | MI | 0 | Yes | No | Yes | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 4162600002 | University of Minnesota Program | Minneapolis | MN | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 23.9 | ||||
| 4162600003 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (Rochester) Program | Rochester | MN | 0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 120 | 23.5 | ||||
| 4162700001 | University of Mississippi School of Medicine Program | Jackson | MS | 0 | Yes | No | No | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 226 | 5.1 | ||||
| 4162800001 | Washington University/B-JH/SLCH Consortium Program | Saint Louis | MO | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 139 | 27.4 |
| 4162800002 | St Louis University School of Medicine Program | Saint Louis | MO | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 449 | 44.6 | ||||
| 4163000001 | University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine Program | Omaha | NE | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 390 | 4 | ||||
| 4163200001 | Dartmouth-Hitchcock/Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital Program | Lebanon | NH | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 127 | 7.9 | ||||
| 4163300001 | Rutgers Health/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Program | New Brunswick | NJ | 0 | No | No | No | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 111 | 0 | ||||
| 4163500002 | Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Program | New Hyde Park | NY | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 117 | 40.7 | ||||
| 4163500003 | NYU Grossman School of Medicine Program | New York | NY | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 152 | 19.5 | ||||
| 4163500004 | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Program | New York | NY | 0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 164 | 22.7 | ||||
| 4163500006 | Rochester General Hospital Program | Rochester | NY | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 104 | 39.5 | ||||
| 4163500009 | Strong Memorial Hospital of the University of Rochester Program | Rochester | NY | 0 | No | No | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 96 | 59.1 | ||||
| 4163500010 | Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine Program | Bronx | NY | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 132 | 38.5 | ||||
| 4163500011 | New York Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia Campus) Program | New York | NY | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 145 | 25.3 | ||||
| 4163500012 | Albany Medical Center Program | Albany | NY | 0 | Yes | No | No | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 109 | 24.8 | ||||
| 4163500015 | Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at Mather Hospital Program | Port Jefferson | NY | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 459 | 33.3 | ||||
| 4163600001 | University of North Carolina Hospitals Program | Chapel Hill | NC | 0 | Yes | No | Yes | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 168 | 5.6 | ||||
| 4163600002 | Duke University Hospital Program | Durham | NC | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 164 | 19.1 | ||||
| 4163600003 | Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Program | Winston-Salem | NC | 0 | Yes | No | No | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 139 | 24.8 | ||||
| 4163800001 | Ohio State University Hospital Program | Columbus | OH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 30 | No | No | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 113 | 23.5 |
| 4163800002 | Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center Program | Cleveland | OH | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 4163800003 | Cleveland Clinic Foundation Program | Cleveland | OH | 0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 156 | 16.2 | ||||
| 4164000001 | Oregon Health & Science University Hospital Program | Portland | OR | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 153 | 15.1 | ||||
| 4164100001 | UPMC Medical Education Program | Pittsburgh | PA | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 149 | 29.6 | ||||
| 4164100003 | Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center Program | Hershey | PA | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 108 | 22.2 | ||||
| 4164100004 | Albert Einstein Healthcare Network Program | Philadelphia | PA | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 146 | 19.6 | ||||
| 4164100005 | Temple University Hospital Program | Philadelphia | PA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 147 | 32.3 |
| 4164100006 | Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University/TJUH Program | Philadelphia | PA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 156 | 22.2 |
| 4164100007 | Geisinger Health System Program | Danville | PA | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 103 | 40.3 | ||||
| 4164300001 | Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital-Lifespan Program | Providence | RI | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 150 | 18.9 | ||||
| 4164500001 | Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine Program | Charleston | SC | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 136 | 18 | ||||
| 4164700001 | Vanderbilt University Medical Center Program | Nashville | TN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 166 | 30.7 | |||
| 4164800001 | University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Program | Dallas | TX | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 8 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 149 | 24.1 |
| 4164800003 | University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Program | Houston | TX | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 171 | 20.3 | ||||
| 4164800004 | University of Texas Medical Branch Hospitals Program | Galveston | TX | 0 | Yes | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 448 | 28 | ||||||
| 4164800005 | University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Joe and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine Program | San Antonio | TX | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 496 | 15.5 | ||||
| 4164900002 | University of Utah Health Program | Salt Lake City | UT | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 114 | 0 | ||||
| 4165100001 | University of Virginia Medical Center Program | Charlottesville | VA | 0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 161 | 30.9 | ||||
| 4165100002 | Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Program | Richmond | VA | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13.3 | ||||
| 4165400001 | University of Washington School of Medicine Program | Seattle | WA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 160 | 16.2 |
| 4165600001 | Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals Program | Milwaukee | WI | 0 | Yes | Yes | No | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 140 | 23.3 | ||||
| 4165600002 | University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Program | Madison | WI | 0 | Yes | No | No | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 122 | 18.6 | ||||
| 4165600003 | Aurora Health Care Program | Milwaukee | WI | 0 | Yes | No | No | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.6 |
Concluding Thoughts
Interventional radiology is among the least IMG-friendly of fields. Only two residency programs filled a small proportion of their available positions with IMGs. That said, for the top of the top applicants, there are still places for IMGs. However, 71% of applicants were rejected, making this a competitive specialty field.
Are you despairing at your chances of matching into interventional radiology as an IMG? Then, check out Never Forget, where you can learn how to master – not memorize – for the impressive USMLE scores to match at your dream residency. And if you’re looking for a residency advisor, look at our residency advisory services.
