Match Day Results Highlight Continued Interest in Adult Rheumatology & Sharp Declines in Pediatric Rheumatology
The ACR applauds another successful recruitment season for rheumatology and welcomes an impressive pool of applicants to the specialty. Ninety-nine percent of adult rheumatology positions were filled for the 2024 appointment year as part of the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which shows a continuing preference for rheumatology.
“This year’s match results signal continued interest in the specialty with 284 out of 287 positions filled,” said Beth Jonas, MD, chair of the ACR’s Workforce Solutions Steering Committee. “It is also encouraging to see that the number of available programs was filled to near capacity at 97% (129 out of 132), suggesting that the demand for adult rheumatology programs is increasing and there may be opportunities to develop more.”
Rheumatology leaders noticed a marked contrast when looking at the percentage of available adult and pediatric fellowship slots filled. Whereas the adult programs filled nearly all available positions, the pediatric programs only filled less than half (49.1%) compared to 61.5% in 2023, indicating an ongoing need to address the challenges facing the pediatric rheumatology community.
“The future of rheumatology looks bright, yet there remain significant threats to the workforce,” says physician editor of The Rheumatologist Bharat Kumar, MD, MME, FACP, FAAAAI, RhMSUS. “Sustained advocacy remains critical toward resolving the workforce crisis.”
“Unfortunately, our subspecialty saw a decrease in the number of fellowship positions and programs that were filled despite continued interests in our field and the recognized unmet clinical, research, and advocacy needs of childhood-onset rheumatic conditions,” said Ekemini Ogbu, MD, MSc, chair of the ACR Committee on Pediatric Rheumatology.
To address this, the ACR is reviewing its current workforce pipeline initiatives for adult and pediatric rheumatology, developing additional measures that will strengthen interest and longevity in the field, and pursuing partnerships with relevant pediatric associations and similarly affected subspecialties to meet shared workforce challenges and goals.
“Despite the overall lower-than-expected numbers, we are delighted to welcome 27 physicians to pediatric rheumatology. Their commitment to the specialty is a tremendous benefit for the children and young adults we serve,” Dr. Ogbu continued. “The ACR and the pediatric rheumatology community remain firmly committed to tackling the issues and providing care for our vulnerable pediatric and young adult population.”
The NRMP, established in 1952 at the request of medical students, uses a computerized, mathematical algorithm to align the preferences of applicants and program directors to fill training positions available at teaching hospitals in the United States. View full details of the 2024 Match Day results for adult and pediatric fellowships at the National Resident Matching Program’s website.
