Hysteria

[Whoops12]

I know there is a ton of hyseteria surrounding the myth that there will be more US medical graduates than residency spots. Anyone who follows the NRMP match stats knows that isn't true but many still believe it.

This editorial in the NEJM lays out a very sober analysis.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1511707?query=featured_home

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[NeuroOsler]

Sure if you see the "raw" numbers. The problem is that people are not willing to consider other specialties. The best example are surgical specialties where there's a growing number of applicants to the same specialty while the residency spots are moving at a lower rate. Yes, by the numbers there still are more residency spots than US graduates but not in the specialty that the US graduates want and here lies the problem. We need adequate mentorship in medical school to stir students to the "right" specialty (or remove the "red flag" for applicants that apply to more than one specialty).

And let's not talk about the growth rate of Caribbean medical schools...

 

[CaliAtenza]

Sure if you see the "raw" numbers. The problem is that people are not willing to consider other specialties. The best example are surgical specialties where there's a growing number of applicants to the same specialty while the residency spots are moving at a lower rate. Yes, by the numbers there still are more residency spots than US graduates but not in the specialty that the US graduates want and here lies the problem. We need adequate mentorship in medical school to stir students to the "right" specialty (or remove the "red flag" for applicants that apply to more than one specialty).

And let's not talk about the growth rate of Caribbean medical schools...

Is it true that Gen Surg applicants are going down? I keep hearing that through the grapevine.

 

[gutonc]

Is it true that Gen Surg applicants are going down? I keep hearing that through the grapevine.

Not sure about applicants, but the # of matches appears to be holding steady over the past 5 years at 11-12oo (Categorical).

 

[IMPD]

I know there is a ton of hyseteria surrounding the myth that there will be more US medical graduates than residency spots. Anyone who follows the NRMP match stats knows that isn't true but many still believe it.

This editorial in the NEJM lays out a very sober analysis.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1511707?query=featured_home

Nice to see a sane article about this topic. Increases in GME funding are usually argued for around the idea of "primary care" blah blah blah. The reality is that hospital systems would like to expand subsidized training in areas that are more financially attractive and curtail (or cap) training in the "low-yield" areas. The article does not seem to grasp how undesirable IM/FM is in geographically undesirable locations. The IOM recommendation that training monies go to Universities first would create new problems, but it would certainly improve the chances of new training models and workforce planning.