FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, March 17, 2023
Contact:
Julie Hirschhorn
AAFP Public Relations
jhirschhorn@aafp.org
LEAWOOD, Kan. — The 2023 National Resident Matching Program® Main Residency Match (NRMP Match) results announced today indicate that this will be the largest class of incoming 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, totaling 13.6 percent of positions offered in all specialties with more programs offering positions than any other specialty. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) congratulates our nation’s future family physicians.
Match Day is a milestone for medical students as they prepare to complete their medical degree and transition into their medical specialties. Known as the Match, the NRMP process aligns graduating and graduated medical students with residency training programs in specialties the students choose to pursue. A tripledemic, a shifting healthcare landscape and increasing practice challenges made a significant impact on medical education. This year’s graduating class has shown great resilience and will join a primary care workforce that needs them more than ever.
“The AAFP congratulates 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,” said Tochi Iroku-Malize, MD, MPH, FAAFP, President, AAFP. “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.”
Strengthening and expanding residency training programs is a top priority for the AAFP and is critical to addressing the urgent need for more primary care and family physicians. The AAFP is focused on urging Congress to increase investment in Medicare Graduate Medical Education programs to meet workforce needs and train physicians who ultimately practice in physician shortage areas. The number of family medicine positions in the NRMP Match grew for the fourteenth year in a row. Family medicine offered more positions in the Match than any specialty—reflecting the urgent need to expand family medicine residencies which are distributed more broadly than any other specialty, training physicians in the communities that need them the most.
“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, AAFP’s senior vice president of Education, Inclusiveness and Physician Well-Being.
Family physicians make up most of the primary care physician workforce and closely mirror the geographic distribution of the U.S. population. They often serve in rural and underserved urban communities, treating a more diverse population of patients than any other medical specialty. As leaders in their communities, family physicians have an important role to raise awareness about health disparities and help patients address social and economic drivers of health inequities. The AAFP is focused on strengthening pathways to careers in medicine, especially for students from underrepresented backgrounds.
“We celebrate each of these new family physicians and welcome them home to our specialty. While we have faced unprecedented challenges, there have also been opportunities to innovate and improve the way we care for patients,” said Iroku-Malize. “Every year, the Match reminds us all why we chose family medicine—to care for patients across their lifespan and to ensure access to affordable, equitable health care.”
For additional information, analysis, graphs and more, visit the AAFP Match Day 2023 resource hub. Video interviews are also available for broadcast use.
To schedule a media interview, please contact Julie Hirschhorn at jhirschhorn@aafp.org
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About American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 130,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the largest medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits — that’s 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the specialty of family medicine and the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, visit www.aafp.org. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s consumer website, www.familydoctor.org.