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2016 Match: Pediatrics fills over 99% of positions for fourth year :

April 20, 2016

A strong interest in caring for children was evident in this year’s Match results.

Among those filling some of the 2,689 available pediatric positions offered were the excited medical school graduates of Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Royal Oak, Mich.Among those filling some of the 2,689 available pediatric positions offered were the excited medical school graduates of Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Royal Oak, Mich.

Pediatrics filled 99.3% of 2,689 positions offered, and categorical pediatrics had a fill rate of 99.5%, continuing the trend started in 2013 of fill rates over 99% for pediatrics. U.S. senior medical students filled 67.5% of all pediatric positions offered.

Internal medicine-pediatrics filled 99.5% of its 386 offered positions, and U.S medical school students filled 85.2% of 329 positions.

“Match Day has always been a big day for medical school graduates, and it is especially exciting that our specialty is one that so many are continuing to choose,” said AAP President Benard P. Dreyer, M.D., FAAP. “This year’s Match results are a strong indicator that we will have a wonderful group of future pediatricians dedicated to the health of all children.”

The 2016 Match also showed:

  • Family medicine filled 99.2% of its 3,238 offered positions, with 43 more positions offered than in 2015.

  • Internal medicine filled 97.9% of its 7,024 offered positions, with 254 more positions offered than in 2015.

  • Obstetrics-gynecology filled 99.4% of its offered positions.

The National Resident Matching Program reported that the 2016 Main Residency Match was the largest on record, encompassing 42,370 registered applicants and 30,750 positions. The number of U.S. allopathic medical school seniors grew by 221 from 2015 to 18,668, and the number of available first-year (PGY-1) positions increased this year by 567 for a total of 27,567.

In the nonallopathic category, the number of students/graduates at U.S. osteopathic medical schools who submitted program preferences increased to 2,982, an all-time high; the match rate of 80.3% also marked a record high.

The chart below shows the percentage of offered PGY-1 positions filled in pediatrics (2003-'16):

 

 

Match results and trends are one way to get a glimpse of the future supply of physicians. This is especially important for pediatrics due to shortages in most pediatric medical subspecialties and surgical specialties at a time when the number of children with chronic health problems and special health care needs is growing.

This trend is highlighted in the recently published AAP policy statement Financing Graduate Medical Education to Meet the Needs of Children and the Future Pediatrician Workforce (http://bit.ly/1RNaKZX), which calls for revamping the way graduate medical education (GME) is funded.

“Pediatric programs face great challenges because while most residency programs receive funding through Medicare, pediatric programs based in children’s hospitals have a less stable funding stream,” said William B. Moskowitz, M.D., FAAP, chair of the AAP Committee on Pediatric Workforce, which authored the report.

To address the shortage of pediatric specialists, the policy statement recommends increasing the number of pediatric GME positions and fully funding GME training for all pediatricians and pediatric specialists.

“Having pediatricians who provide high-quality, patient-centered care is essential if we are to meet the evolving health care needs of the U.S., especially the needs of children,” Dr. Moskowitz said.

Dr. Guralnick is chair of the AAP Committee on Pediatric Education. 

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