For the second year in a row, more U.S. medical students are choosing careers in primary care, according to this year's National Residency Matching Program data.
The number of U.S. medical school seniors choosing family medicine rose by 11% over last year. Overall, 2,708 family medicine residency positions were offered this year. Of those, 94.4% were filled, with 48% filled by U.S. medical graduates. This is the highest ever overall fill rate for the specialty, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
More U.S. medical school seniors also matched to internal medicine residencies, with the overall fill rate remaining roughly the same as in 2010. Overall, 5,121 internal medicine positions were offered in 2011. Of those, 98.9% were filled, with 57.4% of the slots being taken by U.S. medical graduates. In 2010, 54.5% of the 4,999 positions offered were filled by U.S. medical graduates.
In pediatrics, interest by U.S. medical students rose about 3% from 2010. This year, 98.2% of the total 2,482 positions offered were filled. U.S. medical graduates filled 71.2% of the pediatric positions in 2011.
Leaders in primary care said the growing interest by medical students is likely due to the increased attention to primary care and the importance being placed on it, in part due to last year’s passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Dr. Steven E. Weinberger, executive vice president and CEO of the American College of Physicians, said students may be drawn to the idea of coordinating care and being the principal source of care for patients.
"Whenever an area of health careers is more important to the future, it’s going to resonate with student choice," said Dr. Roland A. Goertz, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Emergency medicine, anesthesiology, and neurology were also more popular among U.S. medical graduates in this year’s match. For example, of the 266 PGY-1 positions offered in neurology in 2011, 59.8% went to U.S. medical graduates. This is up from 49.6% last year, when 228 positions were offered.
This year's residency match offered more first- and second-year positions than in 2010. Overall, there were 638 more residency slots available. Of the first-year positions offered, more than 95% were filled.