Why is med school so hard to get into if there is a shortage of doctors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a shortage because it's hard.

the bottleneck is residency spots. there are more graduates than there are residency spots. ever hear of someone going unmatched?

What do these unmatched students do? This is after years of schooling, correct?

Some try to rematch the next year. Some go pursue another degree (PhD) while they wait it out and with a backup plan of doing research. I have followed a few here and there on Instagram who are very transparent about their stories but I suspect that there’s a lot of shame attached to not matching so we never hear about those stories and people quietly disappear into research jobs, maybe teaching, other degrees, etc.

They tend to go into govt positions and MAHA loves them. Uncertified and unqualified- perfect!
Actually I knew someone who never did his residency, so he had a private practice and was never board certified. His patients probably never knew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because the AMA has lobbied for years to keep the number of physicians low. How else do you think their salary floor is ~200k?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because the AMA has lobbied for years to keep the number of physicians low. How else do you think their salary floor is ~200k?

+1

It’s an artificial shortage caused by lobbyists, just like everything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Foreign doctors will work and live anywhere in the US and there are countless places in the US that American trained physicians do not want to live in for residency, let alone as Attending physicians.

i.e. if you went through all the trouble of attending medical school and completing residency would you really choose to live and work at a hospital in an old factory town in West Virginia or Tennessee where the only stores for 50 miles are a Walmart and some truck stops? i think not. But if you're from India you'll take that job over residing in the slums of your own country.

Foreign doctors are plenty represented in the top teaching hospitals and specialty hospitals in NYC and Boston. White male doctors are a minority.

[Anonymous]

my mom goes to one of the top cancer hospitals in the country. you know how many of her doctors are from the USA. ONE! the others are from poland, egypt, nigeria ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a shortage because it's hard.

the bottleneck is residency spots. there are more graduates than there are residency spots. ever hear of someone going unmatched?

Most are matched though

Typically, around 5-7% of U.S. senior medical students (MD and DO) do not match into a residency program during the main National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). In 2024, 6% of U.S. MD seniors and 7% of U.S. DO seniors did not match, with similar trends observed in early 2025 data, as reported by the American Medical Association (AMA).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because it's cheaper to farm in a bunch of Indian and Chinese med school graduates.

THIS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a shortage because it's hard.

the bottleneck is residency spots. there are more graduates than there are residency spots. ever hear of someone going unmatched?

What do these unmatched students do? This is after years of schooling, correct?

Some try to rematch the next year. Some go pursue another degree (PhD) while they wait it out and with a backup plan of doing research. I have followed a few here and there on Instagram who are very transparent about their stories but I suspect that there’s a lot of shame attached to not matching so we never hear about those stories and people quietly disappear into research jobs, maybe teaching, other degrees, etc.

They tend to go into govt positions and MAHA loves them. Uncertified and unqualified- perfect!
Actually I knew someone who never did his residency, so he had a private practice and was never board certified. His patients probably never knew.

MAHA has been around for about a year. Not enough time for anyone to “tend” to do anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because it's cheaper to farm in a bunch of Indian and Chinese med school graduates.

THIS

Cheaper? Residents are paid a “stipend” for the pleasure of their continued learning during residency. You could not possibly get cheaper labor. It amounts to well below minimum wage.

[Anonymous]

Not enough professors as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a shortage because it's hard.

the bottleneck is residency spots. there are more graduates than there are residency spots. ever hear of someone going unmatched?

Most are matched though

Typically, around 5-7% of U.S. senior medical students (MD and DO) do not match into a residency program during the main National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). In 2024, 6% of U.S. MD seniors and 7% of U.S. DO seniors did not match, with similar trends observed in early 2025 data, as reported by the American Medical Association (AMA).

The 6% of MDs who do not match are almost all from the bottom-10 schools. Most know to avoid those schools if at all possible.

[Anonymous]

Because the medical profession and Congress limit the number of medical resident spots

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because it's cheaper to farm in a bunch of Indian and Chinese med school graduates.

This!!! Not to mention, the med schools are prioritizing socioeconomic status in their admissions now so it "feels" like kids aren't getting in when really it's just that kids you're surrounded by aren't. I have a friend on residency committee at a top med school in CA. She knows. She said this is really happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my mom goes to one of the top cancer hospitals in the country. you know how many of her doctors are from the USA. ONE! the others are from poland, egypt, nigeria ...

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