After a surprisingly low number of applicants and a shockingly high unfilled rate last year, emergency medicine (EM) appears to be leveling off as it regains its status as one of the medical profession’s most sought-after specialties. There was a collective exhale from the emergency medicine community after the emergency medicine results of the 2024 Match, but relief remains elusive as concerns about the specialty’s program growth linger.

This year, 135 emergency medicine positions went unfilled across 54 programs—considerably down from the 554 unfilled positions across 132 programs last year. This decrease—from 18 percent to just 4 percent—in unfilled positions is encouraging news for the specialty.

For years, emergency medicine enjoyed tremendous success in the Match with nearly every spot filled. In 2021, when emergency physicians were hailed as health care heroes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, EM applicants reached a peak of more than 4,300. But in 2022, the number of EM-bound students sharply dropped. With more than 700 fewer applicants, the 2022 Match saw 219 unfilled spots across 69 programs. The 2023 cycle continued the downward trend with a continued but smaller drop in EM-bound applicants, and an even larger rise in unfilled spots, which shocked the EM community; some even questioned its future.¹

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The 2024 cycle marked the greatest number of students applying to emergency medicine, according to preliminary data from ERAS. More than 4,400 applicants signed up for emergency medicine this year—nearly 1,200 more EM applicants than the previous year and with nearly double the amount of international medical graduate (IMG) applicants. While emergency medicine’s Match rates have not returned to pre-COVID numbers, it certainly is a sign of renewed interest in the field.

“We are very encouraged that the interest in EM has seen a rebound over the last year,” said Chinmay Patel, DO, the emergency medicine clerkship director at the Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. “The increase in EM interest mirrors what anecdotally many residency programs around the country experienced this interview season with increased applications.”

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The increase in number of applicants and subsequent Match has been mostly driven by an increase in osteopathic and IMG applicants. The results of the 2024 Match showed that 35 percent of EM positions were filled by osteopathic students and 15 percent by international medical students and graduates. Natalie Zink, a graduating medical student at the Medical College of Georgia, said she anticipated the increased competition in emergency medicine this year, but it did not deter her decision. Although applicants from allopathic U.S. schools like Ms. Zink remained relatively flat, competition from osteopathic students and international graduates contributed to the rebound.