ACGME Releases 2019-2020 Statistics on Graduate Medical Education Programs and Resident Physicians

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) released its 2019-2020 Data Resource Book, the most comprehensive and reliable resource of its kind, including data on the size, scope, and distribution of graduate medical education (GME) in the US.

Please note: The data in this book covers the time period July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020.

ACGME Programs
During 2019-2020, there were 12,092 accredited programs of which 5,369 were specialty programs and 6,723 were subspecialty programs. Additionally, 507 programs were newly accredited during the academic year. This is partly due to 59 programs achieving Initial Accreditation in the transition to a single GME accreditation system and to programs accredited in new ACGME subspecialties. One hundred two programs closed or voluntarily withdrew their accreditation, and of these, 17 had one of the following statuses relative to their accreditation: Accreditation Withdrawn; Administrative Withdrawal due to Withdrawn Core or Sponsor; or Withdrawal of Accreditation Under Special Circumstances.

Residents and Fellows
There are 144,988 active residents and fellows in 12,092 programs. This is an increase of 4,598 from last year, including 485 residents active in the 59 newly accredited programs previously approved by the American Osteopathic Association. Of the 144,988 active residents and fellows in ACGME-accredited programs during Academic Year 2019-2020, the majority, at 60.3 percent, graduated from Liaison Committee on Medical Education-accredited medical schools in the US. International medical school graduates make up 23.0 percent, while 16.6 percent are graduates of osteopathic medical schools.

"This has been a challenging year for GME, as for the rest of the world, yet the community has risen to the challenge and continued to care for patients and educate residents and fellows,” said ACGME President and CEO Thomas J. Nasca, MD, MACP. “During this unprecedented moment in history, the information provided in the Data Resource Book serves as an important resource for the GME community as it works together to enhance medical education and improve health care for the American public.”

The full 2019-2020 Data Resource Book can be found on the ACGME website. The data tables and figures provided in this year's edition include these sections: Program Accreditation, Program Characteristics, Resident Characteristics, Graduating Residents and Residents Leaving Prior to Completion, Sponsoring Institutions, Participating Sites, Program Directors and Faculty, and Program Activities.