Match Day 2009 not good news for primary care

Yesterday was Match Day – the day graduating medical students are matched with residency slots. According to the WSJ blog, only 42% of family practice slots went to students graduating from US medical schools this year. The rest went to foreign school grads, osteopathic medicine graduates, and graduates from prior years. Nine percent of those family practice residency slots were not filled. And the number of residency slots offered in family practice has dropped by 226 in the last four years. Family practice docs average $180,000 per year and work difficult schedules. In contrast, 99% of anesthesia residency slots were filled, 84% by 2009 graduates of US medical schools. Anesthesiologists average $400,000/year and work predictable hours. Medical genetics filled only one out of three residency slots.
Ellen Andrews