(HealthDay News) — Despite an increase in the number of U.S. medical school graduates, over the past decade, the percentage entering graduate medical education training has remained stable, according to a research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Henry M. Sondheimer, MD, from the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., and colleagues identified all graduates from the Association of American Medical Colleges Student Record System. They examined whether graduates from all medical schools entered graduate medical education training; the percentage of graduates unplaced in graduate medical education was assessed overall and by race/ethnicity.
The researchers found that during the study period there were 186 937 graduates, increasing from 15 762 in 2004-2005 to 18 705 in 2014-2015. The percentage of graduates unplaced in graduate medical education during the academic year of their graduation from medical school was stable over time, with a mean of 3.0% (P=.18 for trend).
Over time, there was an increase in unplaced black, Hispanic, and non-U.S. citizen graduates. Compared with whites, racial/ethnic minority graduates were consistently less likely to begin graduate medical education the year they graduated. More than 99% of all graduates entered graduate medical education or were found in medical practice in the United States within 6 years after graduation.
"As the number of U.S. MD graduates continues to increase with the creation of new medical schools and the growth of existing schools, these trends should be closely monitored," the authors write.
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