What Does the Family Medicine Match Data Look Like?

Session 63

In this episode, we do a deep dive into the numbers of the Family Medicine Match. How many spots are there, how many unfilled, and so much more.

First off, we need your help! We are in need of more podcast guest recommendations. We need physicians for this podcast. Shoot us an email at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net so we have more physicians to interview. There are over 100 specialties and we're doing both community and academic setting. So there should be over 200 episodes available there. I also want to do retired physicians and program directors. Yet we're only 63 episodes in. So we need your help!

[02:35] Match Summary

Data here is taken from the 2017 NRMP Residency Match Data. As far as number of positions offered, internal medicine is huge at over 7,233. Family medicine is the second largest and half as big, with 3,356 positions offered. Table 1 shows that 520 programs, more than internal medicine, but half the spots. So although it has more programs, it's half the spots. Hence, the programs are much smaller.

Interestingly, there were 67 unfilled programs. This means people were not applying to family medicine. While there are so many that are applying to internal medicine. This is probably because of the fellowship training that you do after internal medicine. Which means you can go to Cardiology or do GI, or do Pulmonology or Rheumatology. You can do a lot of different subspecialties after Endocrinology, after Internal Medicine. So even the International Medical Graduates (IMGs) want that opportunity.

"People are not applying to Family Medicine."

So out of 3,356 positions offered for Family Medicine, 1,797 U.S. Seniors applied fro those positions. Now, there were 6,030 total applicants for those 3,356 spots. Comparing this with internal medicine, they have over 7,000 spots and almost 12,000 students applying for those spots.

Just by numbers, you have more people applying for those Family Medicine spots than you do for internal medicine.

[06:35] Matches by Specialty and Applicant Type

Out of 3,356 positions, there are 3,215 filled positions and there were 141 spots that were left open. Of those, 1,513 were U.S Seniors, 132 were U.S. graduates - students who graduated from an MD medical school who may have taken a gap year to do research or travel. Or maybe they didn't get in the first time. There are 574 osteopathic students so a lot of them are going into family medicine.

Interestingly, there's a similar increase in osteopathic students going into internal medicine but there's only 690 of them. Nevertheless, this means there's a big opportunity for osteopathic students in family medicine. There's one Canadian and 658 U.S.-citizen international medical graduates, and 337 non-U.S. citizen international medical graduates. This is a huge discrepancy here with foreign grads applying to internal medicine at a way higher number than family medicine. There were over 2,003 non-U.S. citizen international medical graduates applying for internal medicine and getting into internal medicine, and only 337 in family medicine. And I really think it's that fellowship piece - just a wild guess!

"This is a huge discrepancy here with foreign grads applying to internal medicine at a way higher number than family medicine."

[08:40] Growth Trends (2013-2017)

Table 3 shows the increase in size from 2013 to 2017. Family medicine has gone up 11.5% every year over this four-year period. It's growing so it's a much needed primary care specialty.

Moving down to Table 8 is positions offered and percent filled by U.S. Seniors and all applicants from 2013 to 2017. Again, not a lot of U.S. Seniors are applying to family medicine. Out 3,356 positions offered, 45.1% of those spots filled were b