internal medicine

Competitiveness: Low

Internal Medicine is the largest, most diverse and flexible medical specialty in residency training. Unlike narrower specialties with more specific requirements, residency candidates applying to Internal Medicine will find it generally easier to apply to. Internal Medicine is typically the most IMG friendly medical specialty, often with 40% or more available positions filled by International Medical Graduates (IMGs) every Match. Internal Medicine is also one of the biggest specialties that offers PGY-1 preliminary training tracks (1 year) which can help residents qualify for other advanced specialties such as Anesthesiology. Many residency candidates use Internal Medicine to either begin a career in primary care or move on to train in a wide variety of subspecialties (Fellowships). Overall, Internal Medicine is an excellent option to consider for any type of residency candidate.

ENTER YOUR CREDENTIALS Customize your Internal Medicine program list

IMG Profile

Average Stats for a Matched US IMG in 2020:

  • USMLE Step 1 score: 226
  • USMLE Step 2 CK score: 235
  • Research: 2.0
  • Abstracts/Presentations/etc: 2.9
  • Work: 4.2
  • Volunteer: 4.2

Average Stats for a Matched Non-US IMG in 2020:

  • USMLE Step 1 score: 237
  • USMLE Step 2 CK score: 243
  • Research: 2.2
  • Abstracts/Presentations/etc: 5.1
  • Work: 6.2
  • Volunteer: 4.0

Specialty Factors

Every specialty has unique factors they want each candidate to have in their residency application. NRMP conducts regular Program Director surveys to identify which parts of the residency application are most important in differing specialties. Among the information gathered, Program Directors were asked to cite factors they used to select candidates for interviews. They were also asked to rate each factor on a scale from 1 (least important) to 5 (most important).

The Top 5 Most Important internal medicine Application Factors

Percentage of Programs Citing Each Factor

  1. USMLE Step 2 CK score (93%)
  2. USMLE Step 1 score (91%)
  3. MSPE/Dean’s Letter (89%)
  4. Class ranking/quartile (80%)
  5. Grades in required clerkships (77%)

Average Importance Rating for Each Factor (scale of 1 to 5)

  1. Applicant was flagged with Match violation by the NRMP (4.8)
  2. Evidence of professionalism and ethics (4.7)
  3. USMLE Step 2 CK Score (4.5)
  4. Any failed attempt in USMLE (4.4)
  5. Perceived commitment to specialty (4.3)

Fast Facts

Total Training 3 years
Average Residency Salary $61,500
Average Physician Salary $245,000
Average Work Week 54.9 Hours
Peak Interview Months November, December
Offers the following program training tracks: Preliminary (1 year)
Categorical (Full training)
Key Organizations and Societies: Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine
American College of Osteopathic Internists
American College of Physicians (ACP)
Association of Professors of Medicine (APM)
Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM)
Society of General Internal Medicine
  • Internal Medicine is one of the most IMG-friendly specialties, with over 3,000 IMGs matching into the specialty in 2020.

Match Statistics

Main Residency Match and Post-Match Stats

3,502

IMGs Matched

952 /
10,608

Number of Programs/Positions

525

Post-Match SOAP Unfilled Positions

Main Residency Match

Categorical
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Preliminary
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Post-Match SOAP

Program Track Categorical Preliminary
Participating Programs 64 55
Filled Programs 47 44
Positions Available 352 142
Filled Positions 294 126/td>

Subspecialties

  • Adolescent Medicine
  • Adult Congenital Heart Disease
  • Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology
  • Allergy and Immunology
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology
  • Critical Care Medicine
  • Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Metabolism
  • Gastroenterology
  • Geriatric Medicine
  • Hematology
  • Hematology & Oncology
  • Hospice & Palliative Medicine
  • Infectious Disease
  • Interventional Cardiology
  • Medical Oncology
  • Nephrology
  • Pulmonary Disease
  • Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine
  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Rheumatology
  • Sports Medicine
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Transplant Hepatology
  • Allergy and Immunology