Catherine Louw at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, celebrates with her fianc, Ryan Coe, after learning that she'll soon be headed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Family Medicine Residency.

Following an anxious week of waiting, graduating medical students today learned the results of the 2014 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), commonly referred to as the Match. Those results spotlight a positive trend for family medicine: For the fifth straight year, the number of medical students choosing family medicine ticked higher than the previous year.

Specifically, 3,000 students, including both U.S. medical school graduates and international medical graduates, chose family medicine; that figure represents a 2 percent increase (62 more positions filled) compared with the 2,938 family medicine spots filled in 2013.

Moreover, of this year's total, 1,416 U.S. seniors matched to family medicine; that's 42 more than in 2013, or a 3 percent increase.

Finally, a total of 70 more family medicine residency positions were offered in 2014 compared with 2013 (3,132 versus 3,062), yet the higher number of students matching into the specialty maintained the same fill rate of 96 percent.

When calculating the number of students matching to family medicine, the AAFP Medical Education Division included students who matched into traditional family medicine residency programs as well as into programs that combine family medicine education with other focused training. Those additional programs are

It's worth noting that NRMP statistics do not include applications processed through the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program that assists students who were not selected by a residency program during the regular Match.

AAFP President Reid Blackwelder, M.D., of Kingsport, Tenn., called the 2014 Match news particularly encouraging in light of the addition of 70 residency positions this year and the uptick seen in the number of U.S. seniors choosing family medicine.

In an AAFP news release, Blackwelder said he was pleased to see the positive trend continue. "As each new first-year class of family medicine residents grows, so does our ability to meet the need for high-quality primary medical care."

In the release, Blackwelder pointed to new AAFP recommendations about family physician workforce reform that concluded the country would need to graduate 65 family medicine residents annually through 2025 to meet the country's demand for family physicians.

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Family Medicine Match Rate Up for Fifth Consecutive Year