Amid Five-Year-Low IMG Match Rate, Residents Medical Brings Residency Advocacy to Southern California's Indian Community

Residents Medical brings residency guidance to Little India as IMG Match rates hit a five-year low and the U.S. faces an 86,000-physician shortage.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, August 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Residents Medical, a residency preparation program that advocates for international medical graduates (IMGs) navigating the U.S. medical residency system, served as exhibitor and sponsor at the Indian Independence Day Mela held August 15 in Artesia, home to one of Southern California's largest Indian-American communities and known locally as Little India. The event drew thousands of attendees from the local Indian-American community.

Representing Residents Medical at the event was Marketing Coordinator Manasi Chandu, alongside VP of Academic Affairs Greg Heffernan, who spoke with attendees throughout the day about the residency Match process and the resources available to IMGs pursuing careers in American medicine.

The appearance comes as the U.S. faces a projected shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, even as the Match rate for non-U.S.-citizen IMGs fell to 56.4 percent in 2026, a five-year low, according to the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). The gap is even sharper for IMGs who require visa sponsorship: they matched at just 54.4 percent, a five-year low, compared with 67.9 percent for IMGs who did not require sponsorship, a five-year high, according to NRMP data.

Each year, Residents Medical helps 70 to 80 Indian IMGs build competitive residency profiles and navigate the Match, guiding them through every stage of the process, from strengthening their applications to preparing for interviews to understanding how visa status can shape program decisions. That work, usually done one applicant at a time, was brought directly to the community at the mela, where Residents Medical met with families and aspiring physicians in a setting far more personal than a clinic or classroom.

"This community has always understood what it means to build something from nothing in a new country," said Dr. Michael Everest, Founder, Chairman & Chief Academic Officer of Residents Medical. "Every year, we watch talented physicians from India come to this country with the skills American healthcare urgently needs, and not always the road map to get there. The country is short of tens of thousands of doctors it will need within the next decade, and the pipeline of physicians willing and able to fill that gap is right here, in this community. Our job is making sure visa uncertainty and a confusing system do not stand between them and the patients who need them."

For Residents Medical, the mela was an extension of work the organization does year-round: helping IMGs compete for residency positions on the strength of their qualifications, even as visa policy and administrative uncertainty make that path harder for the applicants best positioned to help close the country's growing physician gap.
About Residents Medical: Residents Medical is a residency preparation program that helps international medical graduates build competitive profiles and successfully navigate the U.S. residency Match process.

Manasi Chandu
Residents Medical Group
m.chandu@residentsmedical.com
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