Are you wondering how DO-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 a DO would stand the best chance?
This article will give you the most up-to-date information on DO-friendly interventional radiology programs. Use this information to strategize on whether – and where – to apply to maximize your chances of matching as a DO in interventional radiology.
Summary:
- Interventional radiology is a competitive US medical specialty.
- Few residency programs accept some DOs, while none are DO favored.
- In 2022, the total number of DOs Applicants was 34. Of those, 20 matched, for a 59% match rate.
- See the full list of searchable residency programs to strategize where DOs 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’s the Difference Between a DO and an MD?
Let’s start with some definitions.
DO: Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
- Licensed physicians trained in “whole body” wellness and treatment techniques in muscle and joint manipulation in addition to mainstream treatments.
Allopathy Vs. Osteopathy
In the US, there are two main branches of registered physician:
- Allopathy: In this path, doctors train in modern, sometimes referred to as “Western”, medicine to treat symptoms and diseases. Doctors who train in this branch are licensed as Doctors of Medicine (MD)
- Osteopathy: These doctors have the same education and licensing exams as MDs but have additional training in muscle and joint manipulation. Doctors who train in Osteopathy are licensed as Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and have the same residency training and choices as MDs.
COMLEX vs. USMLE
To begin practicing medicine, DOs and MDs must take specific licensing exams:
- COMLEX-USA: This test assesses osteopathic medical knowledge in addition to allopathic medical knowledge in order to become licensed as a DO in the USA.
- USMLE: This test assesses allopathic medical knowledge and is required to become licensed as an MD.
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 prior to the 2020 Match, DOs had access to a “pool” of residencies reserved for which only they could match. The current system has merged DO and MD residencies so that every applicant has the same “chance” for matching in their chosen specialty.
For more on how to maximize your match chances and how the “Merge” has changed residency applications, see THE MATCH: Everything You Need to Maximize Your Residency Chances
Interventional Radiology is Moderately DO-Friendly
Looking at the % of spots filled by DOs in the 2022 Match, we can see interventional radiology was moderately DO-friendly, with 12% of positions filled by DOs.
However, the match rate for DOs in interventional radiology (59%) shows the DOs still have a good chance for acceptance in interventional radiology in the 2022 Match:
Here are the same data represented in a table:
| % DO Applied that Matched | % DO Unmatched | % Positions Filled by DO | Total Positions Offered | Total # All Applicants | DO Senior Matched | DO Senior Unmatched | DO Senior Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Radiation Oncology | 0% | 100% | 0% | 185 | 162 | |||
| **Plastic Surgery | 0% | 100% | 0% | 194 | 340 | |||
| Vascular Surgery | 8% | 92% | 1% | 84 | 143 | 1 | 12 | 13 |
| Neurological Surgery | 43% | 57% | 4% | 240 | 379 | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| Dermatology | 50% | 50% | 7% | 544 | 834 | 38 | 38 | 76 |
| Orthopaedic Surgery | 56% | 44% | 13% | 875 | 1,435 | 111 | 86 | 197 |
| Interventional Radiology | 59% | 41% | 12% | 169 | 226 | 20 | 14 | 34 |
| Otolaryngology | 60% | 40% | 6% | 361 | 556 | 21 | 14 | 35 |
| General Surgery | 62% | 38% | 12% | 1,622 | 2,400 | 200 | 125 | 325 |
| Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | 64% | 36% | 33% | 532 | 725 | 176 | 99 | 275 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | 65% | 35% | 16% | 1,503 | 2,044 | 241 | 130 | 371 |
| Anesthesiology | 66% | 34% | 16% | 1,969 | 2,560 | 313 | 161 | 474 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 67% | 33% | 15% | 1,155 | 1,568 | 169 | 84 | 253 |
| Internal Medicine/Pediatrics | 74% | 26% | 9% | 392 | 458 | 37 | 13 | 50 |
| Psychiatry | 87% | 13% | 18% | 2,047 | 2,560 | 378 | 57 | 435 |
| Child Neurology | 89% | 11% | 9% | 188 | 182 | 17 | 2 | 19 |
| Neurology | 92% | 8% | 15% | 1,014 | 1,249 | 150 | 13 | 163 |
| Pathology | 93% | 7% | 12% | 631 | 827 | 75 | 6 | 81 |
| Internal Medicine | 94% | 6% | 15% | 9,809 | 11,598 | 1,503 | 93 | 1596 |
| Emergency Medicine | 95% | 5% | 25% | 2,921 | 2,813 | 736 | 38 | 774 |
| Family Medicine | 96% | 4% | 27% | 4,916 | 5,055 | 1,345 | 62 | 1407 |
| Pediatrics | 97% | 3% | 19% | 3,016 | 3,153 | 565 | 20 | 585 |
For more on the most competitive DO medical specialties, see this article.
The Most DO-Friendly Interventional Radiology Residency Programs
Even though most interventional radiology residency programs filled most of their available positions with MDs, some programs still accept % of DOs. For example, in the most recent GME census, Ohio State University filled (33%) of its available positions with DOs. Two other residency programs also filled some of their spots with DOs: Georgetown University (8%), and University of Texas Southwestern (8%).
Here is a list of the most (and least) competitive interventional radiology programs for DOs. It includes data from the most recent National GME Census Survey. Percentages are of all residents in the program in 2020.
| Specialty: Interventional Radiology - Integrated | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACGME residency program code | Residency program name | City | State | % residents US DO graduates | % residents US MD graduates | Osteopathic Recognition | # applications submitted (2021 NRMP Main Match) | % applicants interviewed (2020 NRMP Main Match) | # 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) |
| 4163800001 | Ohio State University Hospital Program | Columbus | OH | 30 | 70 | No | 113 | 23.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 4161000001 | MedStar Health/Georgetown University Hospital Program | Washington | DC | 8 | 92 | No | 189 | 15.4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 4164800001 | University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Program | Dallas | TX | 8 | 92 | No | 149 | 24.1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 4162800001 | Washington University/B-JH/SLCH Consortium Program | Saint Louis | MO | 0 | 100 | No | 139 | 27.4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 4163500007 | New York Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell Campus) Program | New York | NY | 0 | 92 | No | 152 | 29.8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 4164100002 | University of Pennsylvania Health System Program | Philadelphia | PA | 0 | 93 | No | 177 | 21.9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 4164100005 | Temple University Hospital Program | Philadelphia | PA | 0 | 100 | No | 147 | 32.3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 4164100006 | Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University/TJUH Program | Philadelphia | PA | 0 | 100 | No | 156 | 22.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 4164700001 | Vanderbilt University Medical Center Program | Nashville | TN | 0 | 100 | No | 166 | 30.7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 4165400001 | University of Washington School of Medicine Program | Seattle | WA | 0 | 100 | No | 160 | 16.2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 4160100001 | University of Alabama Hospital Program | Birmingham | AL | No | 103 | 42.7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4161000002 | George Washington University School of Medicine Program | Washington | DC | No | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 4161100001 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (Jacksonville) Program | Jacksonville | FL | No | 136 | 17.3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4162500004 | Henry Ford Hospital Program | Detroit | MI | No | 116 | 29.9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4162500005 | Spectrum Health/Michigan State University Program | Grand Rapids | MI | No | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 4162600002 | University of Minnesota Program | Minneapolis | MN | No | 128 | 23.9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4162600003 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (Rochester) Program | Rochester | MN | No | 120 | 23.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4162700001 | University of Mississippi School of Medicine Program | Jackson | MS | No | 226 | 5.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4162800002 | St Louis University School of Medicine Program | Saint Louis | MO | No | 449 | 44.6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4163000001 | University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine Program | Omaha | NE | No | 390 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4163200001 | Dartmouth-Hitchcock/Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital Program | Lebanon | NH | No | 127 | 7.9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4163300001 | Rutgers Health/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Program | New Brunswick | NJ | No | 111 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4163500002 | Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Program | New Hyde Park | NY | No | 117 | 40.7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4163500003 | NYU Grossman School of Medicine Program | New York | NY | No | 152 | 19.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4163500004 | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Program | New York | NY | No | 164 | 22.7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 4163500006 | Rochester General Hospital Program | Rochester | NY | No | 104 | 39.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4163500009 | Strong Memorial Hospital of the University of Rochester Program | Rochester | NY | No | 96 | 59.1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4163500010 | Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine Program | Bronx | NY | No | 132 | 38.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4163500011 | New York Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia Campus) Program | New York | NY | No | 145 | 25.3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4163500012 | Albany Medical Center Program | Albany | NY | No | 109 | 24.8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4163500015 | Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at Mather Hospital Program | Port Jefferson | NY | No | 459 | 33.3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4163600001 | University of North Carolina Hospitals Program | Chapel Hill | NC | No | 168 | 5.6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4163600002 | Duke University Hospital Program | Durham | NC | No | 164 | 19.1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 4163600003 | Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Program | Winston-Salem | NC | No | 139 | 24.8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4163800002 | Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center Program | Cleveland | OH | No | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4163800003 | Cleveland Clinic Foundation Program | Cleveland | OH | No | 156 | 16.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4164000001 | Oregon Health & Science University Hospital Program | Portland | OR | No | 153 | 15.1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4164100001 | UPMC Medical Education Program | Pittsburgh | PA | No | 149 | 29.6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4164100003 | Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center Program | Hershey | PA | No | 108 | 22.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4164100004 | Albert Einstein Healthcare Network Program | Philadelphia | PA | No | 146 | 19.6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4164100007 | Geisinger Health System Program | Danville | PA | No | 103 | 40.3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4164300001 | Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital-Lifespan Program | Providence | RI | No | 150 | 18.9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4164500001 | Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine Program | Charleston | SC | No | 136 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4164800003 | University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Program | Houston | TX | No | 171 | 20.3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 4164800004 | University of Texas Medical Branch Hospitals Program | Galveston | TX | No | 448 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4164800005 | University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Joe and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine Program | San Antonio | TX | No | 496 | 15.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4164900002 | University of Utah Health Program | Salt Lake City | UT | No | 114 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4165100001 | University of Virginia Medical Center Program | Charlottesville | VA | No | 161 | 30.9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4165100002 | Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Program | Richmond | VA | No | 0 | 13.3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 4165600001 | Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals Program | Milwaukee | WI | No | 140 | 23.3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4165600002 | University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Program | Madison | WI | No | 122 | 18.6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4165600003 | Aurora Health Care Program | Milwaukee | WI | No | 0 | 18.6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Concluding Thoughts
Interventional radiology is a competitive specialty for DOs. Although most interventional radiology programs filled their spots with MDs, some programs still had spots filled with DOs (Ohio State University, Georgetown University, and University of Texas Southwestern). Thus, intervention radiology is a highly competitive specialty for DOs.
Are you despairing at your chances of matching into interventional radiology as a DO? 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.
