Nearly all available neurology residency positions continue to be filled, unlike those in primary care, which have continued to see a gradual decline in their fill rates, according to the latest data from the National Resident Matching Program.
In the 2009 resident match, two-thirds of the 581 total neurology residency positions offered were for PGY-2 residents. A total of 87 programs matched 375 (97.4%) of 385 PGY-2 positions. Another 47 programs filled 195 (99.5%) of 196 PGY-1 positions. Last year, 371 of 398 PGY-2 and 165 of 177 PGY-1 positions were filled.
U.S. medical school seniors filled about 50% of the PGY-2 neurology positions, which is down from about 57% in the previous 2 years. (PGY-2 positions were first offered in 2007.) The percentage of PGY-1 neurology positions filled by U.S. seniors, now 63%, has grown almost every year since 2005, when they filled 47% of 43 positions.
The percentage of U.S. seniors choosing residencies in internal medicine and family medicine dropped slightly. For internal medicine, this is the third consecutive year in which interest has dipped among graduates of U.S. medical schools. Family medicine experienced a small increase in U.S. seniors matching to its residency programs last year, but dropped back down this year.
This year, 2,535 family medicine residencies were offered, 101 fewer than last year. A total of 91.2% of offered residencies were filled, with 42.2% filled by U.S. medical graduates. Last year, 90.6% of total positions were filled, with 43.9% going to U.S. medical graduates.
Internal medicine residency programs experienced a similar trend, with a slightly higher overall match rate compared with last year, but with fewer U.S. medical students choosing the field.
This year, 4,922 internal medicine residencies were offered and 98.6% were filled. Of those, 53.5% were filled by U.S. medical graduates. Last year, 97.8% of the 4,858 total positions were filled, with 54.8% filled by U.S. medical graduates.
In raw numbers, that means only 2,632 U.S. seniors matched to an internal medicine residency program this year, compared with 3,884 in 1985, according to the American College of Physicians. The decline is compounded, the ACP said, because currently only 20%–25% of internal medicine residents ultimately choose to practice general internal medicine, compared with more than 50% in 1998.
“We are witnessing a generational shift from medical careers that specialize in preventive care, diagnostic evaluation, and long-term treatment of complex and chronic diseases, to specialties and subspecialties that provide specific procedures or a very limited focus of care,” said Dr. Steven E. Weinberger, senior vice president for medical education and publishing at the ACP.
Match Day data show that interest continues to be strong in those specialties that have a heavy procedural focus, such as neurologic surgery, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, and dermatology. For example, all 28 dermatology residencies offered this year were filled, with 27 going to U.S. medical school graduates. Last year, 86.7% of 30 dermatology positions were filled by U.S. medical graduates.
Overall, this was the largest Match Day in history, with 29,890 participants, up 1,153 from last year and up more than 4,500 positions from 5 years ago, according to the National Resident Matching Program. The increase included 400 more U.S. medical school seniors and 570 more international medical graduates. In addition, more students with osteopathic degrees participated in this year's match, as did more physicians who had graduated from medical school prior to this year.
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