Results of the 2008 National Resident Matching Program: family medicine

The results of the 2008 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) reflect a currently stable level of student interest in family medicine residency training in the United States. Compared with the 2007 Match, 91 more positions (with 65 more US seniors) were filled in family medicine residency programs through the NRMP in 2008, at the same time as 10 fewer (one fewer US senior) in primary care internal medicine, eight fewer positions were filled in pediatrics-primary care (10 fewer US seniors), and 19 fewer (27 fewer US seniors) in internal medicine-pediatrics programs. Multiple forces, including student perspectives of the demands, rewards, and prestige of the specialty, the turbulence and uncertainty of the health care environment, lifestyle issues, and the impact of faculty role models, continue to influence medical student career choices. Thirty-one more positions (20 fewer US seniors) were filled in categorical internal medicine. Thirty more positions (84 fewer US seniors) were filled in categorical pediatrics programs. The 2008 NRMP results suggest that while interest in family medicine experienced a slight increase in the number of students choosing the specialty, interest in other primary care careers continues to decline. With the needs of the nation calling for the roles and services of family physicians, family medicine still matched too few graduates through the 2008 NRMP to meet the nation's needs for primary care physicians.