The Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians (LAFP) would like to congratulate this year’s medical students on an outstanding Match Day. On March 15, a total of 4,595 medical students and graduates matched to family medicine residency programs across the United States!
Match Day is a milestone for medical students as they prepare to graduate medical school and transition to their specializations in residency. The National Residency Match Program (NRMP), also known as The Match, aligns graduating and graduated medical students with residency training programs in specialties the students choose to pursue. This year’s graduating class will fill openings in primary care in higher numbers than 2023, and continue to grow the workforce and provide needed care to patients across the country in all settings.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) provides a full breakdown of the Match results each year as they pertain to family medicine. Below are a few highlights from the AAFP’s 2024 Match Results for Family Medicine and The National Resident Matching Program’s analysis:- Family medicine offered 5,231 positions in the 2024 Match; 124 more than in 2023, and 13.6% of positions offered in all specialties.
- Family medicine represents 12.8% of all U.S. students or graduates who matched in 2024.
- 4,595 medical students and graduates matched to family medicine residency programs this year. Following is the breakdown:
- 1,535 U.S. allopathic medical school (MD) seniors
- 1,493 osteopathic medical school (DO) seniors
- 749 U.S. international medical graduates (IMGs)
- 706 foreign IMGs
- 68 previous graduates of U.S. MD-granting schools
- 44 previous graduates of DO-granting schools
- 796 family medicine categorical programs offered 5,213 positions, and filled 4,577 positions.
- 6 family medicine-psychiatry programs offered and filled 10 positions.
- 3 emergency medicine-family medicine programs offered and filled 7 positions.
- 1 family medicine-preventive medicine program offered and filled 1 position.
For additional data and insights from the 2024 Match and need for family physicians, view the following resources:
- Another Record Match Day for Family Medicine – AAFP
- NRMP® Celebrates Match Day for the 2024 Main Residency Match®, Releases Results for Over 44,000 Applicants and Almost 6,400 Residency Programs – NRMP
- Best Practice Guide: Strategic Planning to Increase Student Choice of Family Medicine – AAFP
- The Health of U.S. Primary Care: 2024 Scorecard Report — No One Can See You Now – Milbank Memorial Fund.
The Future of Family Medicine
The AAFP and the LAFP are keeping a close eye on workforce trends, needs for the future, and changes in family physician training.
Per the AAFP,
While the residency Match results reflect momentum for family medicine, the pace needs to accelerate in order to meet the demand for family medicine in the United States. The U.S. medical education system is far from delivering the primary care medical workforce needed in the country it serves, and whose taxpayers fund it. The composition of residency training positions must reflect the composition needed in the physician workforce, and as such, needs to increase steeply in family medicine, other primary care specialties, and a few other specialties.
Healthcare, education, and societal systems need to incentivize, recruit, and support a more diverse medical student population that better represents the U.S. population, especially those who are more likely to choose primary care careers and practice in underserved areas. Substantial increases in the family medicine and primary care workforce – while also accounting for the composition, distribution, and quality of that workforce – are needed to improve the health of Americans and the sustainability of the health care system.
AAFP’s 2024-25 Match GuidebookFor medical students planning to participate in the 2025 Match – the AAFP has updated its free comprehensive Match guidebook, Strolling Through the Match, for 2024-25:
With practical tips and expert advice to lean on every step of the way, Strolling Through the Match has been helping students for decades in the dash to match. As a comprehensive guide to the match, this booklet provides reliable insight on professional development for all osteopathic and allopathic medical students, guidance on choosing a specialty, and a deep look into the process of choosing and matching into a family medicine residency.
Each year, Strolling Through the Match is updated with the latest statistics and information to ensure students have everything they need to successfully navigate the journey to residency.
Features of the guide include:
- How to use signaling, past experience, and geographic preference in residency applications
- ERAS updates
- Residency requirements
- Side-by-side comparison of residency training experiences in the primary care specialties
- Match statistics and strategies for successful match into family medicine
- Events and conferences with residency fairs
- Interview question lists on a variety of subjects
- Guidance for international medical graduates
- Tips on interviewing and writing CVs and personal statements
- Residency selection steps and program evaluation advice
- Real stories from students who have matched into family medicine
- Virtual interview advice
- Updated statistics on the SOAP.
Student members of the AAFP can download a digital version or order a free printed copy of the guidebook on the AAFP website.
