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Predictors of matching into an ophthalmology fellowship for international medical graduates: a San Francisco match analysis

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Abstract

Purpose

To describe the characteristics and outcomes of international medical graduates (IMGs) applying for ophthalmology fellowship match.

Methods

Design Case control study.

Setting San Francisco Fellowship Match data between 2010 and 2017.

Participants IMGs applying for ophthalmology fellowships.

Main outcome(s) and measure(s) Applicant characteristics for IMGs were stratified by their match outcome and compared using Chi-Square and Mann–Whitney U test. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess the effect of applicant characteristics on their match outcomes.

Results

22.62% (785/3471) of the fellowship match applicants were IMGs of which 35.92% (n = 282) matched. This rate was 58% lower than the 86.4% match rate for US-MG (p < 0.001). Factors associated with higher odds of matching among IMGs were graduating from a US residency (Odds Ratio (OR):2.330; 95% Confidence Interval (CI):1.433–3.789), higher USMLE Step 3 score (OR:1.019; 95% CI: 1.006–1.032), applying to more programs (OR:1.035; 95% CI: 1.017–1.053), ranking more programs (OR:1.200; 95% CI: 1.096–1.313) and having a higher percentage of programs ranked (OR:1.021; 95% CI: 1.014–1.028).

Conclusions

Fellowship match rates for IMGs were significantly lower than for US-MGs. IMGs graduating from an ophthalmology residency in the US, scoring higher Step 3 scores, distributing more applications, and ranking more programs had increased odds of matching. This information may assist IMG fellowship applicants and their mentors when they consider pursuing an ophthalmology fellowship program in the US.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) for providing us with the San Francisco (SF) Match Data.

Funding

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 600 North Wolfe Street, Wilmer B1-69., Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Muhammad Ali, Safa Saeed, Sidra Zafar & Fasika Woreta

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, The Cincinnati Eye Institute, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Karl C. Golnik

Authors
  1. Muhammad Ali
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  2. Safa Saeed
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  3. Sidra Zafar
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  4. Karl C. Golnik
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  5. Fasika Woreta
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Contributions

M.A. and F.W. conceptualized the study. M.A. analyzed the data. M.A., S.Z., K.G. and F.W. interpreted the data. M.A. and S.S. wrote the main manuscript text and designed the tables. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fasika Woreta.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Conflict of interest

No conflicting relationship exists for any author.

Ethics statement

This study involves human participants but the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine exempted this study (IRB00179344). The study was exempted because all information obtained from the SF Match Program is de-identified prior to the principal investigator's receipt of the dataset.

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Ali, M., Saeed, S., Zafar, S. et al. Predictors of matching into an ophthalmology fellowship for international medical graduates: a San Francisco match analysis. Int Ophthalmol 43, 2029–2035 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-022-02602-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-022-02602-0

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