Graduating US Medical Students Who Do Not Obtain a PGY-1 Training Position
- Henry M. Sondheimer, MD hsondheimer@aamc.orgAcademic AffairsAssociation of American Medical CollegesWashington, DC
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- CAREER CHOICE
- EDUCATION, MEDICAL, GRADUATE
- PHYSICIANS
- SPECIALTIES, MEDICAL
- STUDENTS, MEDICAL
- UNITED STATES
To the Editor: The number of graduating US medical students is increasing more rapidly than the number of postgraduate training positions.1 The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) has experienced a decrease in the number of unfilled positions for first postgraduate year (PGY-1) training while the number of unmatched seniors in US allopathic medical schools (US MDs) has remained stable.2 After the 2010 NRMP, there were for the first time more unmatched US MD seniors (1078) than available PGY-1 positions (1060).2 Applicants who fail to match either through the NRMP or the programs occurring earlier each winter (the Department of Defense Match and the San Francisco Match) scramble for the remaining PGY-1 positions after the NRMP match. Because this process is unmonitored, it has been unclear how many qualified US MD students fail to acquire a PGY-1 position through the matching programs and the subsequent scramble. This study …
