Matching 25% of Medical Students in Family Medicine by 2030: Realistic or Beyond Our Reach?

Abstract

This article examines the America Needs More Family Doctors: 25x2030 Collaborative goal of “25x30”—that 25% of all medical students will enter family medicine residency programs by the year 2030. Filling 25% of all available postgraduate year-1 positions in the match is an important consideration in creating a strong primary care workforce. Data from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) matches for 2010 and 2020 are reviewed to examine trends not only in the US MD and DO categories, but also US international medical school graduates (IMGs) and non-US IMG categories over the last 10 years. If the total number of all programs and of all positions offered were held constant in 2030, what shifts in student choices would be required to reach the 25x30 goal in each applicant category as well as for all four categories combined? This discussion explores resources, power, physician income, and other factors that affect student numbers. Until a national health system is developed with national goals and priorities, it is unlikely that 25x30 will become a reality.

Forging a Social Movement to Dismantle Entrenched Power and Liberate Primary Care as a Common Good

“…The federal and provincial governments in Canada regulate the number of residency positions available in each specialty, prioritizing positions in family medicine. 12 As David has noted, 13 the 25 by 30 campaign is unlikely to succeed in the United States without a national health system that redistributes power and resources. The economic winners in the current system are those positioned to commodify and monetize their services and productsnon-primary care specialists, hospitals, pharma, information technology (IT) and digital health suppliers, and health plans, among others.…”

Reenvisioning Family Medicine Residency Education

“…In recent months, there has again been dialogue about the tension between quantity and quality of medical students going into family medicine. The goal set by Family Medicine for America's Health-that 25% of American medical students will go into family medicine-is aspirational, and others have questioned both the feasibility and the wisdom of setting such a goal, 22 emphasizing instead the quality of people going into family medicine. 23 We believe both are important.…”

Geriatrics Education: Phone Calls With Older Adults and Medical Students

“…2 This gap begins in medical training where students' interest in family medicine is low, with only 8.1% of US allopathic medical students matching into family medicine in 2021. 3 This reality is coupled with an even lower geriatrics match rate, with 56% of the 2015 geriatric National Resident Matching Program fellowship positions unfilled. 4 Factors contributing to low interest in geriatrics include complexity of disease, low status, and lack of clinical exposure.…”