for the first time since 2009, according to the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).
First-year FP slots rose from 3,629 to 4,107 as family medicine doubled the 6.5% increase in all first-year positions over 2018. The numbers of applicants (38,376) and total positions offered (35,185) were both record highs for the Match,although they were affected, in part, by “increased numbers of osteopathic programs that joined the Main Residency Match as a result of the ongoing transition to a single accreditation system for graduate medical education programs,” the NRMP noted.
Family medicine programs filled 39.0% of first-year positions with U.S. allopathic seniors, which was down from 44.9% in 2018 and 45.1% in 2017. In terms of the numbers of U.S. seniors involved, the drop was fairly small: from 1,628 in 2018 to 1,601 in 2019; however, the 986 osteopathic students and graduates who matched set a new record and accounted for almost 26% of all successful FP applicants, the NRMP reported.“The results of the Match are closely watched because they can be predictors of future physician workforce supply. There also is significant interest in the competitiveness of specialties, as measured by the percentage of positions filled overall and the percentage filled by senior students in U.S. allopathic medical schools,” the NRMP said in a written statement.