Date of Project

4-20-2023

Document Type

Honors Thesis

School Name

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Economics

Major Advisor

Dr. Frank Raymond

Second Advisor

Dr. Michael Ackerman

Abstract

The National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) oversees the process of medical school graduates being matched to a residency program. The NRMP determines both the hospital and residency program for medical students. Prior to matching, both hospital programs and students rank each other. The NRMP uses these lists to determine the matches. Four distinct models using data from hospitals and applicants were used to determine what characteristics lead to a chance of being matched. Each model went through multiple rounds of testing to determine the importance of the different independent variables. In each data set, the dependent variable is either the percentage of positions filled, or the percentage of applicants matched. The first model looks at data from 1987 to 2022. The second data set looks at the data without the switch involved. Finally, the third and fourth data sets break down applicants by their preferred specialty or the type of medical school they attended. After analyzing the four models, it was determined that volunteer experience and USMLE Step 2 score are the characteristics most significant in determining an applicant’s chance of matching to a residency program.

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