Performance of local and foreign applicants for the pediatrics specialty in the 2025 Unified Medical Residency Exam in Argentina.

Introduction. The medical residency system is a professional training program. In Argentina, the Unified Exam (UE) centralizes admission to most residencies. In 2025, a five-point bonus was added for graduates of Argentine universities to compensate for differences observed in graduation averages compared to those of foreign graduates. Objective. To analyze the average grade point average, UE score, and differences according to foreign status. Population and methods. Cross-sectional study. It included 470 applicants for pediatric residency; 32.8% were foreign nationals, and 28.3% were graduates of foreign universities. Results. Foreign university graduates had higher academic averages (7.8 vs. 7.4; p <0.001) but lower UE performance (58.8 vs. 72.6; p <0.001). The correlation between career average and UE score was significant (R2 = 0.25).Conclusion. These results provide evidence for evaluating the impact and relevance of the applied bonus to ensure equity in access to residencies.