Recent trends in match process outcomes for U.S. senior medical students.

Purpose: It is difficult to compare match outcomes across specialties because they may change over time and data are not reported in uniform formats.
Method: Recent U.S. student match outcomes were analyzed for 16 specialties.
Results: On the basis of student match rates, three specialties were consistently competitive, eight were consistently noncompetitive, and five were in flux. Unfilled position rates increased for five specialties and remained stable or decreased for 11.
Conclusions: Many specialties, both competitive and noncompetitive, recently have become increasingly desirable to match participants, whereas primary care specialties have become less desirable to both U.S. students and other match participants.