In this episode of EM Match Advice, our panel takes on the tough issues of 2021. Specifically we discuss the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Workforce Study [1] that projects fewer jobs for emergency physicians and the hot-off-the-press ERAS data showing a drop in the number of EM residency applicants, compared to 2 years ago. Did one cause the other? In this podcast, Dr. Mike Gisondi and Dr. Michelle Lin host an esteemed panel of 3 program directors, Dr. Cassandra Bradby (East Carolina University), Dr. Adam Kellogg (Baystate Health), and Dr. Craig Krausz (Saint Louis University).
The Numbers
- The ACEP Workforce Study projects a whopping 7,845 excess of emergency physicians in 2030 who could be left without jobs. And our very smart medical students have been eyeing those numbers carefully.
- While EM is still an attractive specialty for many medical students, some enter this year’s residency application season with a trepidation that hasn’t been seen before. And a good deal of  students clearly chose a specialty other than EM, with approximately 200 fewer applicants projected this cycle, compared to 2 years ago. Most of that drop came from students at LCME-accredited medical schools. [Silver lining: These numbers may make for a buyer’s market that greatly favors the students in the upcoming Match.]
- Below is a summary of the ERAS data, pulled from their downloadable Excel data. Note that these data were collected on October 3 of each year and only summarize data from EM-only residencies (not EM/IM or EM/FM).
| Characteristic | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21* | 2021-22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of EM residency applicants | 3,220 | 3,330 | 3,338 | 3,601 | x | 3,408 |
| Average number of submitted applications in EM | 49.1 | 53.35 | 57.86 | 59.75 | x | 61.23 |
| Average of applications received per EM program | 883.3 | 866.6 | 850.82 | 874.58 | x | 772.82 |
(* Because of the pandemic, the 2020-21 season’s timeline was shifted later by about 1 month, resulting in non-comparable data.)
EM Match Advice Podcast
Additional Resources
Read and Listen to the other EM Match Advice Episodes
Blog posts: https://www.aliem.com/em-match-advice-series/
References
- Marco CA, Courtney DM, Ling LJ, et al. The Emergency Medicine Physician Workforce: Projections for 2030 [published online ahead of print, 2021 Aug 2]. Ann Emerg Med. 2021; doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2021.05.029. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34353653.
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