March 2016:
8,640 Unmatched M.D.'s
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The number of M.D. medical student graduates exceeds the number of PGY-1 residency positions currently available.
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Without 1 year of post-graduate training, a graduate is not able to obtain a medical license!
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Over the last 5 years, more than 40,000 graduates who could otherwise be practicing physicians today have been wasted.
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The solution depends upon:
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Medicare Funding
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ACGME program credentialing
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State laws with regard to physician licenses
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ACGME confers eligibility to residency programs (ie. allows programs to open and continue educating residents) but the approval process takes 3 years.
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While the problem is being solved, what are these candidates, who can't work in their field of training, do to support themselves?
March 2015:
8,653
Unmatched M.D.'s
March 2014:
8,583
Unmatched M.D.'s
March 2013:
9,091
Unmatched M.D.'s
** etc., etc., etc. since the mid 1970's! **
The Problem:
Won't these "unmatched candidates" just reapply next year and eventually get in?
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Huge numbers of applications (hundreds of applications for a single position) to existing programs.
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Minimal office staff review of applications due to an inordinate number of applications.
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Candidates are initially selected based on concrete scoring systems such as USMLE scores (The programs see only part of the application package and may miss out on appreciating the additional work done by candidates to increase the quality of their applications.) and candidates with lower scores are effectively screened out.
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The same applicants continue to be virtually ignored and remain umatched.
What happens when a candidate does NOT get a residency position?
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Without a single year of residency training, the candidate will never practice medicine as a physician in the United States.
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No ability to get a medical license or malpractice coverage.
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After a period of years, the eligibility for a residency position expires.
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School loans ($180,000 average) are due.
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No ability to "audition" at prospective residency programs because the candidates are not able to get malpractice coverage.
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M.D.'s with no residency eventually must look for work elsewhere.
The Catch-22
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No single person can solve this massive problem!
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The biggest task at present is educating medical societies and state lawmakers about this issue.
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Legislators who are unfamiliar with the medical education process currently don't understand that these candidates are unable to just go and "apply for a job."