Initial Match Rates of an Innovative International Partnership: The Ochsner Clinical School Experience

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Graduate Medical Education
• Physician Training

Background:

• Ochsner Clinical School (OCS) is a unique partnership between Ochsner Health System and The University of Queensland School of Medicine.
• OCS trains physicians in global medicine and promotes primary care careers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate OCS graduate performance in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).
• To compare OCS graduate match rates against those from various medical school types.

Main Methods:

• Compared NRMP match outcomes of OCS graduates (2013-2015) with graduates from other medical schools.
• Examined primary care residency choices among OCS graduates versus US medical school graduates.

Main Results:

• OCS graduates achieved a cumulative match rate of 91.8% (2013-2015).
• OCS match rates significantly exceeded those from international, osteopathic, and Canadian medical schools.
• OCS match rates were comparable to US medical school graduates (91.8% vs 94.0%).
• 44.3% of OCS graduates entered primary care, compared to 38.3% of US graduates.

Conclusions:

• OCS graduates secure residency positions at rates comparable to US medical school graduates.
• OCS graduates demonstrate significantly higher match rates than graduates from other international and US-based medical schools.
• A notable trend shows OCS graduates increasingly choosing primary care specialties.