OSCRSJ Research Scholars
Real journal. Real methodology. Real peer review. A structured research-training program for pre-med students, medical students, and IMG candidates.
The gap in matching into orthopedic surgery is widening. We would like to help close it.
The 2026 NRMP Main Residency Match results illustrate the scale of the challenge. Across 223 orthopedic surgery programs, 963 PGY-1 positions were offered and 100% were filled, with zero positions remaining unfilled — one of only a handful of specialties to fill every position nationally. 1,129 active U.S. MD senior applicants competed for those 963 positions, and only 765 of them matched into orthopedic surgery — an in-specialty match rate of roughly 68% for U.S. MD seniors who pursued the field. U.S. MD seniors accounted for 79.4% of every matched position; 121 osteopathic seniors, 5 non-U.S. IMG applicants, and zero U.S. citizen IMG applicants matched into the specialty nationwide.
Beneath those numbers is a consistent pattern. Applicants who match into orthopedic surgery share a common credential: substantial, mentored research experience. To build that experience, many medical students now take a dedicated research year at a strong orthopedic department, work alongside a faculty mentor who places them on multiple projects, or join a research team in which members contribute meaningfully to each other's work to accumulate the scholarly output the specialty expects.
That ecosystem is far harder to access for students at medical schools with limited orthopedic research infrastructure, and it is largely inaccessible to students at institutions without a home orthopedic surgery program. The OSCRSJ Research Scholars program was built to make structured research training, faculty mentorship, and meaningful project authorship available to candidates who do not have those resources at their home institution.
The candidates this program was designed for
The OSCRSJ Research Scholars program is structured to support the following applicants:
- Pre-medical students
Applicants who want to be a competitive medical school candidate and position themselves for success when applying to competitive residencies during medical school.
- Medical students
- Students at institutions without a home orthopedic surgery program.
- Students with a home program but limited research opportunities within it.
- Students preparing to apply to an orthopedic surgery residency who need additional research experience.
- International medical graduates (IMGs)
- IMGs committed to orthopedic surgery and seeking a competitive residency application.
- IMGs who require a research letter of recommendation from a sustained, mentored project.
The training, the team, and the projects to be an efficient researcher
Cochrane-trained methodology
Protocol development, PICO formulation, search strategy, risk-of-bias assessment, GRADE quality rating, and PRISMA reporting — the full methodological toolkit, taught in cohort.
Mentorship and a research team
Monthly project meetings, cohort journal clubs, and a working group of pre-medical students, medical students, and IMGs collaborating on real projects under faculty supervision.
Structured pipeline, milestone deadlines
Topic → PICO → PROSPERO registration → systematic search → screening → extraction → synthesis → manuscript draft → submission. Each milestone reviewed and signed off by your mentor.
Three tracks
Pre-Med Scholar
For first-generation pre-meds and students without an established mentor network.
Med Student Scholar
For medical students at schools without a home orthopedics program, or anyone building a stronger surgical-residency research record.
IMG Scholar
For international medical graduates applying through ECFMG to US residency.
Ready to apply?
Applications are open and reviewed on a rolling basis. Submit yours and you'll receive the full program overview — curriculum, deliverables, deadlines, and tuition for your track — within minutes of applying. We respond personally within 2-3 weeks.