Hear from members of SIR’s URM and RFS sections on how to navigate the most crucial time in a med student’s career: matching into residency.
How to Match IRs-in-training
By Franklin Iheanacho, MD, Brandon O'Connor, DO, Uchechukwu Uzomah, MD
How to match Advice to medical students
This article is a summary of insights from a June 2025 panel of in-training members who recently matched and share a strong passion for interventional radiology.
I
t is no secret that the residency match process can be a very stressful time for medical students as competition, stress and a lack of control of the final outcome are at an all-time high. Since 2019, the Integrated IR residency match rate has ranged from 94.9% to 100%, solidifying IR’s position as one of the most competitive residencies in medicine. For recent context, the 2025 Main Residency Match had 496 applicants competing for 209 Integrated IR positions, thus highlighting the selectiveness of this process.
With preparation there are some things within your control to help reduce stress and increase your readiness while you navigate the application process.
Strategize Start by putting together a plan as it will help you to organize your next steps and boost your confidence during this difficult time. It’s important to prepare as early as you can in order to conduct your research on various away rotations, residency pathways and residency programs so that you know what each program offers. Also decide whether you want to apply for a
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transitional year, a preliminary internal medicine year or a preliminary surgical year—or any combination of these—for your intern year.
Everyone has various suggestions on which intern year is the best to prepare for interventional radiology but at the end of the day you have to choose what is right for you professionally and personally.
Remember that the intern year is only one year, it’s an important year in
training but only a blimp in time, so do not over think it. Do not feel forced to choose a certain kind of intern year. Assess your current financial situation and consider your career goals as well as your personal family and living circumstances. See which programs you can envision yourself enrolling in and investigate whether the culture of the institution is a good fit for you.
Network While it is important to find an IR attending who can be your mentor, it
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