2016 Match Day

On March 18, 2016, 157 UAMS medical students received sealed white envelopes which would reveal where they would spend the next few years. Students were called randomly to the podium in groups of five to 10. An eager crowd of family and friends filled the Embassy Suites ballroom to watch the students open their envelopes, one by one, and announce where they would complete their residencies.

Each March, 145 medical schools across the United States simultaneously announce the results of the competition for residencies through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Students in their fourth year apply to programs, interview and then send a ranked list to the centralized matching service. Residency programs also submit a list of preferred candidates, and an NRMP computer, using an algorithm, reconciles the lists as best as possible.

Nationally, the 2016 Match was the largest ever recorded by the NRMP and resulted in a higher overall match rate than the year prior.

With 42,370 total registrants, this year’s Match eclipsed the record set in 2015 by 1,036 registrants, according to 2016 Match data released by the NRMP.

A total of 30,750 positions were available, an increase of 538 positions from 2015, which was another record. Available first-year (PGY-1) positions reached 27,860, a year-over-year increase of 567.

The overall match rate hit 96.2 percent in 2016, with 96.3 percent of first-year positions filled. Both those rates were up from last year.

However, concerns remain that residency training programs may not be able to address the estimated shortage of physicians, which could range from 61,700 to 94,700 over the next decade, according to newly released study findings from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

The study updates a report from 2015, with findings remaining largely consistent. The latest report includes a new section on underserved populations, showing that the physician shortage would be even more severe if barriers to health care were removed and more people in need could access services.

In fact, the country would need up to an additional 96,000 physicians today to meet these needs, the study found.