Match Day 2023 Resource Hub: AAFP Celebrates the Newest Class of Family Medicine Residents 

AAFP News Release: Historical Match Day: Family Medicine Welcomes Largest Class of New Residents
The 2023 National Resident Matching Program® Main Residency Match results announced today delivered the largest class of family medicine residents in history, with 4,530 medical students and graduates matching into family medicine residency programs. This year, family medicine offered 5,107 residency positions, 172 more than in 2022.

AAFP News Story: Family Medicine Welcomes Largest Class Ever
Family medicine programs filled 4,530 positions in the National Resident Matching Program Main Residency Match, according to results released March 17. That’s 60 more than last year’s Match and 47 more than the previous record-breaking class in 2021.

AAFP Analysis: 

2023 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.

Hear from AAFP Leaders: Download interviews with AAFP SVP of Education, Inclusiveness, and Physician Well-Being, Dr. Margot Savoy, MD, MPH, AAFP VP of Education, Dr. Karen Mitchell, MD, FAAFP, and Richard Easterling, Student Member to the AAFP Board of Directors. Media outlets are free to use these interviews for broadcast or publication with credit to the AAFP.

“The AAFP congratulates and applauds each of the students who matched into family medicine this year, a specialty that is the backbone of health care and a core component of ensuring patients have equitable access to comprehensive care. We commend every student who has chosen to practice in this profession and know that the future of family medicine is in the most capable hands,” said Tochi Iroku-Malize, MD, MPH, FAAFP, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

“Family physicians can make you feel better, and we can extend your life. There is great joy in adding to our family of family medicine and knowing our future colleagues will be doing amazing work. Whenever I see more and more people choosing family medicine, I see people choosing to invest in the health of our country, and then the health of our world,” said Margot Savoy, MD, MPH, FAAFP, Senior Vice President, Education, Inclusiveness and Physician Well-Being, AAFP.

Graph: Family Medicine in the NRMP Match 2003-2023
This year, more than 4,530 medical students and graduates matched into family medicine residency programs. Family medicine offered 5,107 residency positions,172 more than in 2022. The 2023 class of family medicine residents is the largest in the specialty’s history.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Match?
The Match process is a uniform system by which residency candidates and residency programs simultaneously “match” to fill first-year and second-year post-graduate training positions accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The National Resident Matching Program^®(NRMP^®) instituted and maintains the Match system.

Unless they have specifically enrolled in the Military Match, which occurs in December, all graduating medical students and medical school graduates seeking a residency position should enroll in the Match.

What happens if a student does not match?
On Monday of Match week, students learn if—but not where—they matched. If a student didn't match, there's still an opportunity for them to match to a residency program through the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program^® (SOAP^®). SOAP matches are announced along with applicants who matched in the Main Residency Match on Friday.

The SOAP is a National Resident Matching Program-run system that matches unfilled residency positions with eligible unmatched applicants. During SOAP, applicants submit new applications to residencies, interview and then are offered positions in several rounds that each have two-hour windows for response. The entire process including three or more rounds of offers takes place Monday through Thursday of Match week. 

Why should students consider matching into family medicine?
With the broadest scope of all specialties, family physicians have more office visits and practice in more settings than physicians in any other medical specialty. Family medicine is one of the most recruited specialties in the United States.

Family physicians provide and coordinate comprehensive health care for people of all ages, from newborns to seniors. They provide preventive care, address mental health and diagnose, treat and manage acute and chronic conditions.  

Family physicians build long-term relationships with patients and have a wholistic view of their health. This makes them uniquely positioned to provide proactive, preventive care that prioritizes long-term patient wellness. 

Where can I learn more?
The Match may be a complex process, but the AAFP has articles, tools, videos and events to support Match applicants every step of the way, as well as help journalists understand the Match process.

If you’re interested in speaking with a family physician, AAFP leader, student member who is matching this year, a residency program director, or resident who matched, email jhirschhorn@aafp.org to arrange a media interview.   

Resources on the Match and Primary Care Workforce

The Health of US Primary Care: A Baseline Scorecard Tracking Support for High-Quality Primary Care
Primary care has been shown to improve health outcomes, yet historical underinvestment and projected workforce shortages threaten progress. A new scorecard authored by the AAFP’s Robert Graham Center, with support from the Milbank Memorial Fund and The Physicians Foundation, explores strategies to strengthen primary care & improve health outcomes.

The Match: Getting into a Residency Program
Learn more about the Match process. The National Resident Matching Program^®(NRMP^®) instituted and maintains the Match system.

AAFP Advocacy Resources

AAFP Advocacy Focus: Building the Family Physician Workforce 
U.S. health is threatened by a primary care workforce shortage, and the country will need up to 48,000 more primary care physicians by 2034. Meeting this imperative means clearing major roadblocks — a mission on which the Academy is intently focused.

Testimony: Addressing the Primary Care Physician Workforce Shortage
AAFP submitted testimony to the Senate HELP Committee to outline policy recommendations to protect the primary care workforce. 

Opinion Editorial: Why Congress should target medical student debt relief next 
AAFP Board Chair, Dr. Sterling Ransone, outlines in The Hill how increase in student debt has created significant roadblocks to physicians who want to enter the primary care profession and practice in underserved communities and recommends urgent policy changes.

AAFP News Stories

Written by AAFP staff, these stories highlight updates, news and the work family physicians across the country are doing to address workforce issues

Students Keep Social Media Match Tool Alive
Unlike most of the Class of 2023, Tema Fodje won’t be waiting for an envelope or an email to open on March 17, Match Day. The fourth-year student at Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine already knows where she’s headed.

Your Next Chapter Starts With Match Day Magic
Chase Mussard, MD, Resident member of the AAFP Board of Directors writes about the magic of Match Day.

Match Candidates Celebrate Resilience, Growth
In the past three years, medical students have had their experience disrupted and altered by a pandemic. With the Match Day approaching on March 17, AAFP News sat down with three candidates hoping to match in family medicine.

Director of New Program Is Eager for First Match Day
If things had gone according to plan, Lawrence Gibbs, M.D., M.S.Ed., would be teaching middle school science class on March 17. Instead, the director of the HCA Healthcare Kansas City: Lee’s Summit Medical Center Family Medicine Residency will be eagerly awaiting the results of the program’s first Match Day.

ERAS Changes Aim for a ‘Good Fit’ for Students, Programs 
On Feb. 1, the Association of American Medical Colleges announced the most significant changes to its Electronic Residency Application Service in decades.

ACGME Issues New Program Requirements for Family Medicine 
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education released new program requirements for family medicine residencies Sept. 30. The new requirements, which take effect July 1, 2023, are the first major revisions for the specialty’s training programs in a decade.

Shaping Future of Family Medicine Training 
As chair of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s Review Committee for Family Medicine, Grant Hoekzema, M.D., offers an update on the committee’s work each year during the AAFP’s Residency Leadership Summit, which is now open for registration.

Peer-reviewed Journal Publications

Annals of Family Medicine:

The Future of Family Medicine Residency Education: The Specialty Has Spoken 
An update from representatives of the specialty of Family Medicine who came together at the fourth Starfield Summit to provide input for the development of the next version of ACGME Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Family Medicine, expected to be implemented in 2022.

Introducing the Best Practice Guide for Strategic Planning to Increase Student Choice of Family Medicine 
The family of Family Medicine has created several initiatives to increase student choice of Family Medicine over the years.