Matching and matriculating (hereinafter “matching”) to a dermatology residency program is a competitive process. Most applicants for dermatology residency training programs are senior US allopathic medical students.1,2 A minority of applicants are former US medical school graduates.1,2 These include candidates who failed to previously match (reapplicants), those who desire a specialty change, those who pursued research or advanced degree(s), and those who did not attempt to match during senior year. Besides former US allopathic medical school graduates, former graduate applicants include osteopathic and international medical school graduates.3
Each year, a large number of dermatology applicants do not match to a program.2 Program directors and mentors are called on to advise not only first-time applicants but also those who failed to match but who wish to continue to pursue dermatology. Advice is often based on local experience, best guesses, and anecdotal data. It is unknown if advice should differ for applicants who previously graduated vs traditional applicants.4,5 The goal of this study was to identify factors statistically associated with matching into dermatology residency programs for applicants who previously graduated from medical school. If independent factors within the control of the former graduate are associated with subsequent match success, this could be helpful for dermatology residency applicants and for those who advise them.