Addressing medical residency concerns

Next March, medical students across the country will again open envelopes disclosing where, and whether, they matched with residency. The stakes are high: Without residency, these students cannot practice as doctors.

A major driver of this anxiety is the so-called residency shortage. This leaves thousands of capable medical school students unmatched. According to commonly cited match data, only 80% of applicants match to a residency position. These data appear appalling. Without a residency match, medical students fear finding themselves in six-figure debt with no pathway to practice. Fortunately, a reexamination of match data bears surprising news: There is no residency shortage.