Medical school graduates who plan on entering the specialties below were most likely to have named different specialties when they began medical school. Almost half (48.7%) changed their stated preferences from the start of medical school to residency the rest had been undecided or didn’t report a preference. Only 27.0% of the 2020-21 graduates intended to train in the specialties they had listed as their preference when they began medical school - a figure that’s consistent with the rate of the past several years. See the gender distribution by specialty. Men make up a larger percentage of medical residents in anesthesiology (66.6%), emergency medicine (62.8%), and internal medicine (56.4%), among others. There are also now slightly more women than men residents in psychiatry (accounting for 50.2%), which is a change from previous years. residents.) GenderĪmong the specialties with the most medical residents, women continue to make up a larger percentage of those in family medicine (54.2%), obstetrics and gynecology (85.2%), and pediatrics (72.7%). Race/ethnicity is presented only for U.S. (Note: Medical residents could choose more than one race/ethnicity.
The percentage of medical residents who identify as Black or African American and as Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish origin increased from those in the 2020 report. Racial diversity varies greatly among specialties, as this data table shows. Meanwhile, the percentage of residents who are international medical school graduates has declined in recent years, going from 25.9% in the 2015 report to 23.0% in the 2021 report. This table shows the numbers of residents by type of medical school, graduate medical education specialty, and gender. The number of active medical residents covered in the annual report increased from 139,848 in 2020 to 144,660 in 2021.
These are among the findings in the 2021 Report on Residents, the latest annual AAMC compilation of data on the characteristics of medical school graduates and residents, including test scores, demographics, and professional activities after residency - the multiyear training period when medical school graduates practice at hospitals and clinics under close supervision. Below are some selected findings. Women now account for more than half of the medical residents in psychiatry, in addition to increasing their majorities in several other fields. The country’s newest medical residents begin their post-medical school training having devoted many hours to volunteer work, led by those who specialize in obstetrics and gynecology and in pediatric internal medicine.Īnd people from races and ethnicities that have traditionally been underrepresented in the medical field continue to expand their presence in residency training. Medical school not only teaches the nation’s future doctors about medicine, but it also helps them to explore their own skills and interests - which helps to explain why most students change their preferred specialties by the time they graduate. Summer Health Professions Education Program