Program Directors Association Guides for Residency Applicants 2025 – 2026

Program Directors Association Guides for Residency Applicants 2025-2026

The Program Directors Association Guide for Residency Applicants is a joint effort between the Organization of Program Directors Association (OPDA), Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and American Medical Association (AMA) to improve communication and provide program directors guidance on key specialty-specific application information and resources. Each guide includes information on letters of recommendation, away rotations, program signals, USMLE/COMLEX-USA scores, interview format, etc.

2025-2026 OPDA PD Guide Spreadsheet – Summary of All Specialty Guides

The following program directors associations have provided OPDA with completed 2025-2026 guides that include guidance on these key specialty application parameters for student deans and prospective applicants: 

• Anesthesiology
• Allergy and Immunology
• Colon and Rectal Surgery
• Dermatology 
• Diagnostic Radiology 
• Emergency Medicine 
• Family Medicine 
• Internal Medicine – exemplar
• Medical Genetics and Genomics (categorical) 
• Medical Genetics and Genomics (combined) 
• Neurology – Child 
• Neurological Surgery 
• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopaedic Surgery – exemplar
• Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine
• Otolaryngology 
• Pathology 
• Pediatrics – exemplar
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 
• Public Health and General Preventive Medicine 
• Psychiatry 
• Surgery – General 
• Surgical Critical Care 
• Thoracic Surgery – Integrated 
• Transitional Year Residency
• Urology
• Vascular Surgery – Integrated