Record number of med students take next step in training
A record number of medical school students and graduates applied for residency positions this year, according to the National Resident Matching Program. More than 37,000 applicants competed for 33,167 positions. The number of first-year positions also hit a new record of 30,232, nearly 1,400 more than last year.
Last week marked what medical school students and residency prgorams refer to as "Match Day." This is the day allopathic medical students find out into which residency training program they have been accepted. Results from the Match speak to trends in the future of medicine.
Nearly half of first-year positions offered this year were in primary care specialties. The number of primary care positions has increased by 13.2% since 2014. About 98% of those positions were filled during the Match.
Emergency medicine programs also offered 231 more first-year positions for a total of 2,278. This number represents a 27.5% increase since 2014. Ninety-nine percent of those positions were filled, 70.5% of which were filled by seniors at allopathic medical schools.