ACGME Releases 2021-2022 Statistics on Graduate Medical Education Programs and Resident Physicians

Today the ACGME released its 2021-2022 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. The data in this book cover the time period of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.

Please note that with the 2021-2022 Data Resource Book, the ACGME has adopted a race/ethnicity reporting standard in line with that of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System as follows:

• If the individual self-identifies as Hispanic only, or Hispanic and any race category, report as Hispanic
• If the individual self-identifies as not Hispanic; more than one race category, report as two or more races ("Multiple Race”)

As a result, the ACGME has also updated the 2020-2021 Data Resource Book iteration as it was the first reporting of self-reported race/ethnicity data.

ACGME Programs
During 2021-2022, there were 12,740 accredited programs, of which 5,579 were specialty programs and 7,161 were subspecialty programs. Additionally, 384 programs were newly accredited during the academic year. Forty-two programs closed or voluntarily withdrew their accreditation, and of these, 14 had one of the following actions: Accreditation Withdrawn or Administrative Withdrawal.

Residents and Fellows
There are 153,843 active residents and fellows in 12,740 programs. This is an increase of 4,643 from last year. Of the 153,843 active residents and fellows in ACGME-accredited programs during Academic Year 2021-2022, the majority, at 59.6 percent, graduated from Liaison Committee on Medical Education-accredited medical schools in the US. International medical school graduates make up 22.9 percent, while 17.4 percent are graduates of osteopathic medical schools.

“During a period of great uncertainty, it is encouraging to see the number of those entering residency and fellowship continue to increase as the need for highly skilled physicians is higher than ever,” said ACGME President and CEO Thomas J. Nasca, MD, MACP. “And, just as we rely on data in our fight against the pandemic, we hope the ACGME Data Resource Book serves as a valuable asset to those working in graduate medical education.”

The full 2021-2022 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.