Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health

Introduction: The 2023 National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) Match in emergency medicine (EM) left 554 spots and 132 EM programs unfilled. The Council of Residency Directors Match Task Force sought to characterize the programs that did and did not fill, learn more about their Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) applicants, determine residency programs’ needs for future NRMP Matches, and inquire what actions program leaders would like to see to promote a healthy future for training in EM.

Methods: We conducted a web-based survey of EM residency program leadership during March and April 2023. We generated descriptive statistics from these survey results. Thematic analysis was used for free-text responses.

Results: Of 287 programs, 160 (55.7%) responded to the survey, including 59 of 132 programs (44.7%) that did not fill in the Match. Unfilled programs were overall content with the quality of applicants in the SOAP. Programs expressed varying opinions on why fewer students are choosing EM. While most agreed there are concerns about the workforce (78.1%), even more spread exists on what actions should be taken to help support the future of residency training in EM.

Conclusion: Here we present data regarding the 2023 Match environment for EM and describe a residency program-level needs assessment and desire for action. Annual review of the Match data and residency program needs should be continued until we see improvement in the Match environment for EM.