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Objective:
The study aims to provide medical students with a reliable metric to assess the competitiveness of the integrated interventional radiology (IR) programs in the NRMP match and consequently guide them in the selection process.

Materials and Methods:
IR programs were analyzed using publicly available match data from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) website. The total number of programs, positions offered, applicants, matches, and ranked positions from 2016 to 2022 were collected. Data from the NRMP represents students from all accredited US medical schools and data from all other schools are reported annually. As no IR’s competitiveness metrics are available currently; competitive index (CI), cumulative CI, and normalized CI (NCI) were derived from the surgical competitiveness assessment tools. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata version 17.0, and statistical significance was defined as <em>P</em> < 0.05. Match characteristics between 2016 and 2022 were stratified by overall applicants and US-based MD applicants. Data were presented as mean and SD. Linear regression was performed to compare NCI trends over time among PGY-1 and PGY-2 applicants, stratifying by overall and MD applicants. A null hypothesis of y - intercept = 1 was used because the NCI was normalized to a value of 1. Lines of best fit and statistical difference between overall and MD applicants were determined for the linear regression.

Results:
In the last 7 years, PGY-1 IR positions have increased 15-fold (3 in 2016 vs. 45 in 2022) and PGY-2 IR positions have increased over 11-fold (11 in 2016 vs. 123 in 2022). The number of PGY-1 applicants has more than quintupled during this time (48 in 2016 vs. 246 in 2022). The number of PGY-2 applicants has nearly doubled (105 in 2016 vs. 199 in 2022). The overall applicants mean match rate was 14.1% for PGY-1 and 33.1% for PGY-2. The average number of programs ranked per applicant was higher for PGY-2 applicants compared to PGY-1 applicants (5.7 vs. 2.6). For the US-based MD applicants, the mean match rate was 15.0% for PGY-1, and 43.4% for PGY-2. These rates were not significantly different from the overall match rates for PGY-1 and PGY-2 applicants. The mean CI for total applicants and MD applicants did not vary between groups. Linear regressions of overall and MD-specific NCIs over time were performed, and results were compared. The null hypothesis was not rejected and did not achieve an NCI significantly greater than 1.

Conclusion:
Matching in IR is extremely competitive, as indicated by low average match rates and higher number of programs ranked per applicant. Interest in IR has been significantly increasing over the past 7 years, considering increases in the number of applicants. Limited studies have been performed regarding trends in competitiveness of this field.