• Despite Canceled Celebrations, A Record Year for Family Medicine in the 2020 Match

    News Release: Despite Canceled Celebrations, A Record Year for Family Medicine in the 2020 Match
    Today marks a historic year with an all-time record high of students matching into family medicine residency programs, according to the National Resident Matching Program® Main Residency Match results released Friday. This year marks 11 straight years of growth for the family medicine workforce, which makes up the largest and most representative medical specialty delivering primary care in this country.  


    AAFP Analysis: 2020 Match® Results for Family Medicine
    The American Academy of Family Physicians’ brief analysis of the family medicine results of the annual National Resident Matching Program Main Residency Match® provides a snapshot of a major input into the primary care workforce pipeline. 
     

    AAFP News: More U.S. Students Match to Family Medicine in Record Year

    “Family medicine is a thriving and essential specialty, but key systemic factors result in lower primary care choice,"
    said Gary LeRoy, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

    "Public health issues like the pandemic the world is experiencing now underscore the importance of a strong foundation in primary care at the front lines surveilling and treating the community."

    Graph: Family Medicine in the NRMP Match 2010-2020
    This year, the total number of NRMP Match participants matching into family medicine was 4,335, up 487 from the 3,848 in 2019. 2020 is the first year that there has not been an American Osteopathic Association match as U.S. graduate medical education programs have transitioned to single accreditation through the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education. As such, the vast majority of students and graduates entering ACGME-accredited residency programs will do so through the NRMP Match.

    AAFP America Needs More Family Doctors: 25x2030: 
    The AAFP and eight other national and international family medicine organizations envision a future in which one in four U.S. medical students pursues a career in family medicine.

    match day 2019 25 by 2030 infographic illustrating the current and goal

    Peer-reviewed journal publications

    Family Medicine:
    Collaborating to Achieve the Optimal Family Medicine Workforce
    When the Family Medicine for America’s Health Workforce Education and Development Tactic Team began its work in December 2014, one of its charges from the FMAHealth Board was to increase family physician production to achieve the diverse primary care workforce the United States needs. The WEDTT created a multilevel interfunctional team to work on this priority initiative that included a focus on student, resident, and early-career physician involvement and leadership development. One major outcome was the adoption of a shared aim, known as 25 x 2030. 

    Annals of Family Medicine:
    Estimating the Residency Expansion Required to Avoid Projected Primary Care Physician Shortages by 2035
    More than 44,000 primary care physicians will be needed by 2035. Current primary care production rates will be unable to meet demand, resulting in a shortage in excess of 33,000 primary care physicians.

    A Shared Aim for Student Choice of Family Medicine: An Update from ADFM and Family Medicine for America's Health
    Recently, through the Family Medicine for America’s Health Workforce team, 8 family medicine organizations endorsed a “shared aim” to: increase the percentage of US senior allopathic and osteopathic medical students choosing family medicine from 12% to 25% by 2030. Twenty-five percent is a stretch goal aligning current efforts and resources with the ultimate primary care workforce goal of 40%.