Urology Residency Guide

Residency Application Process Overview

If you are thinking of applying in Urology, let us be the first to welcome you with both the good news and the bad. The good news is that you are attempting to enter one of the most dynamic, stimulating, and versatile fields of medicine (see Choosing Urology & Dr. Drach's Advice). The not so good news is that you are not alone. For the 2005-2006 match, the American Urological Association (AUA) received 469 match registrations (at 114 non-military programs) and 350 match lists, while only 235 spots were available. That is, the overall match rate was an abysmal 67%. Some of these applicants were foreign graduates and US students who had already finished medical school (of these, some did not match into Urology in the previous years, some took a year or two off after medical school, and some were attempting to switch into Urology from other specialties). Among this subset of applicants, the match rate was 25% for foreign graduates and 45% for US medical school graduates. The rest (and the majority) of the applicants were 4th year medical students. Of these individuals, only 77% matched! The numbers underscore the competitiveness of the Urology match, but do they suggest that you must walk on water to match in Urology? Absolutely not!!! Instead of being intimidated by these statistics, keep these numbers in mind to motivate you to enter the match process as prepared and informed as possible. The information in this guide will help you in these preparations and make you a more competitive candidate.  Best of luck!