PM&R Is Surging. For MDs, an Interview Now Almost Always Takes a Signal.
Physical medicine and rehabilitation has 20% more applicants than at this point four years ago, almost all of the growth from U.S. MD and DO students. At the same time, the specialty moved to 20 program signals, and applying without one stopped working.
By Rezumab · · Data as of September 23, 2026
When programs opened ERAS 2027 applications, 1,180 people had applied to PM&R, up from 984 on the same day of ERAS 2023. That is 13% more than on the same day last year, one of the largest one-year jumps in the match.
Since ERAS 2023, MD applicants are up 19% and DOs 40%. International graduates are down 17%.
For an MD student deciding whether and how to apply, the bigger change is in how interviews get handed out. Rezumab read every PM&R table in the AAMC’s ERAS data: five seasons of applicants and applications by MD, DO and international graduate, signals by program, and how often 102 programs interviewed applicants who did and didn’t signal them. Here’s what we found.
The growth is MDs and DOs, and DOs have nearly caught up
PM&R draws an unusually large share of DOs. They were 36% of its applicants on opening day of ERAS 2023, and this year they are 43%, against 44% for MDs. Across all residency applicants, DOs were 17% in ERAS 2026. For an MD applicant, the competition is growing fastest from the DO side, not from international graduates, whose share has been shrinking.
| Season | All | MD | DO | Intl. grads | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERAS 2027so far, vs. same day of 2026 | ▲+12.8% | ▲+13.6% | ▲+18.6% | ▼−5.0% | ▼−1.7% |
| ERAS 2026vs. 2025 | ▲+4.7% | ▲+6.7% | ▲+6.8% | ▼−5.3% | ▼−13.5% |
| ERAS 2025vs. 2024 | ▲+3.7% | ▲+0.2% | ▲+7.9% | ▲+3.7% | ▲+4.7% |
| ERAS 2024vs. 2023 | ▼−2.1% | ▼−2.0% | ▲+2.5% | ▼−11.4% | ▲+3.8% |
More applicants, fewer applications each
The drop lines up with the signal count. PM&R gave applicants 5 in ERAS 2024, 8 in ERAS 2025 and 20 in ERAS 2026 onward. In the season signals jumped to 20, the median MD’s application count fell 26%, from 47 to 35. The middle half of MD applicants now send 22 to 41 applications.
Total applications to PM&R on opening day are down 8% since ERAS 2023, even though there are more applicants. Programs are getting a smaller, more deliberate pile.
Twenty signals changed who gets interviewed
Show as table
| Did not signal | Signaled | |
|---|---|---|
| MD, 2025 | 13% | 56% |
| MD, 2026 | 1% | 43% |
| DO, 2025 | 5% | 47% |
| DO, 2026 | 1% | 34% |
| Intl. graduates, 2025 | 0% | 6% |
| Intl. graduates, 2026 | 0% | 4% |
With 8 signals, an MD who applied to a PM&R program without signaling it still had a real shot: the median program interviewed 13% of them. With 20, it interviewed 1%. Signals got less valuable too: the median program’s interview rate for MDs who signaled fell from 56% to 43%, because everyone now signals far more programs.
The program-by-program spread shows how complete the shift was. In ERAS 2025, 2% of programs interviewed no MD who hadn’t signaled them; in ERAS 2026, 40% did. The share of programs where an MD’s signal led to an interview at least half the time fell from 66% to 34%.
DOs followed the same pattern a step lower: 47% to 34% with a signal, 5% to 1% without. International graduates were rarely interviewed either way (4% with a signal at the median program).
Programs now get more signals than they have interview slots
The median PM&R program has received 182 signals so far in ERAS 2027, 76 of them from MDs. Last cycle, the median program in the AAMC’s interview data invited about 68 applicants, for a median of 4 first-year positions. A signal gets an application read closely; it can’t guarantee one of those interviews.
Nearly every MD uses the full allotment: 99% of MD applicants signaled, and the average MD used 19.2 of 20.
Most MD applicants don’t apply to a backup specialty
| Also applied to, ERAS 2027 | MD | DO | Intl. graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transitional YearPGY-1 year | 79% | 83% | 59% |
| Internal Medicine (preliminary)PGY-1 year | 78% | 62% | 60% |
| Internal Medicine (categorical) | 9% | 15% | 43% |
| Family Medicine | 8% | 21% | 43% |
| Pediatrics–PM&R (combined) | 5% | 4% | – |
| Internal Medicine (primary care) | 4% | 7% | 27% |
| Orthopaedic Surgery | 4% | 4% | – |
| Anesthesiology | 3% | 3% | 11% |
| Neurology | – | – | 12% |
| Pediatrics | – | – | 12% |
Share of each group’s PM&R applicants who also applied to that program type. PGY-1 years are required for PM&R, which starts at PGY-2. A dash means the program type wasn’t among that group’s most common. Source: AAMC ERAS Statistics; Rezumab analysis.
Nearly every applicant applies to a preliminary or transitional year, since PM&R starts at PGY-2. A true backup, a categorical program in another specialty, is rare among MDs: 9% also applied to categorical internal medicine, against 15% of DOs and 43% of international graduates.
MD applicants are also choosier about setting. 37% told programs they prefer a suburban or urban program, against 32% of DOs and 18% of international graduates. Most applicants in every group stated no preference.
What the numbers mean for an MD applicant
The pool is bigger, and the extra competition is from U.S. students. MD and DO applicants together are up about 29% since ERAS 2023.
Signals are the application. At the median program, a signaled MD was interviewed 43% of the time and an unsignaled MD 1%. Where you spend your 20 signals matters far more than how many extra applications you send.
Applying broadly buys little. Applications beyond an applicant’s signals converted so rarely last cycle that sending more of them mostly adds fees.
Few MDs have a plan B. Only about one in 11 MD applicants also applies to categorical internal medicine. That is a choice worth making deliberately rather than by default.