Interventional Radiology
Image-guided minimally invasive procedures. Increasingly its own surgical specialty.
Interventional radiologists perform vascular and non-vascular procedures: embolizations, angioplasty, biliary drains, tumor ablation, uterine fibroid embolization, IVC filters. Combine catheter skills with image interpretation. Increasingly primary providers (clinic-based, longitudinal patient relationships) rather than just consultants.
Lifestyle & practice
Resident hours similar to surgery, 60 to 70. Attending varies by practice mix; academic is more clinic-heavy. Comp $500k to $700k+. Call burden depends on group size.
Common fellowship paths
- Residency length
- 6 years (integrated) or 5+1+1 (independent)
- Median comp
- $500k to $700k
High-signal external links curated for residents and applicants.
- Society of Interventional Radiology ↗
Specialty society, premier IR meeting (SIR annual).
- BackTable IR podcast ↗
Procedure-focused podcast widely used by trainees.
- Interventional Radiology forum (SDN) ↗
Long-running medical career forum with active specialty subforums.
Positions
190
All applicants
256
Seats / app
0.74
From NRMP Charting Outcomes 2024 (most recent biennial publication). Source PDFs: MD Seniors / DO Seniors / IMG. NRMP publishes Charting Outcomes every other year, so this should refresh in early 2026 with the 2025 cycle data.
| Pool | Step 1 | Step 2 | Pubs | Research | AOA % | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MD_seniors | 247 | 253 | 15.8 | 4.7 | 17.9 | 117 |
| DO_seniors | — | 253 | 6.3 | 4.0 | — | 13 |
| US_IMG | 229 | 245 | 6.0 | 3.0 | — | 3 |
| Non_US_IMG | 244 | 259 | 16.1 | 2.4 | — | 8 |
Per-applicant-type match rates and mean Step scores published by NRMP every two years. Each row is one applicant pool in one cycle. Step scores reflect what matched applicants in that cycle achieved, not what programs require today.
| Year | Type | Match rate | Matched (n) | Step 1 | Step 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | MD_Senior | 83.0% | 117 | 247 | 253 |
| 2024 | DO_Senior | 48.1% | 13 | — | 253 |
| 2024 | IMG | 27.3% | 3 | — | 245 |
| 2022 | MD_Senior | 82.2% | 106 | 245 | 253 |
| 2022 | IMG | 20.0% | 1 | 261 | 270 |
| 2020 | MD_Senior | 80.2% | 109 | 247 | 255 |
| 2020 | DO_Senior | 65.0% | 13 | 252 | 250 |
| 2018 | MD_Senior | 58.7% | 118 | 246 | 255 |
| Pool | Share |
|---|---|
| MD_seniors | 84.6% |
| DO_seniors | 0.0% |
| US_IMG | 7.7% |
| Non_US_IMG | 7.7% |