The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) would like to congratulate this year’s medical students on an outstanding Match Day!
On March 20 across the United States, 4,613 medical students matched to family medicine residency programs (categorical and combined).
Match Day is a major milestone for medical students as they prepare to graduate from medical school and transition to the next step of their training in residency. The National Residency Match Program (NRMP) aligns eligible graduating and graduated medical students with residency programs through a process known as The Match.
Family medicine residency programs, positions offered, applicants, and applicants matching to family medicine all continue to increase year after year both nationally and in Ohio. While we are still short of reaching goals for primary care coverage across the country, these increases in training opportunities along with investments in the primary care workforce and overall pathway are moving us closer to those goals.
Joie Watterson
Medical School: Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Medicine
Residency program: Cleveland Clinic Akron General Family Medicine Residency | Ohio
“The OAFP Foundation’s Leroy A. Rodgers, MD, Preceptorship Program was my exposure to family medicine. I am looking forward to growing my own patient panel in residency and learning how to take care of everyone from newborns to elderly folks! So excited!”
National Family Medicine Match Highlights
View a national breakdown of the family medicine match provided by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). A full analysis of the 2026 Match including SOAP outcomes will be available later this spring from the NRMP.
Below are a few highlights from the AAFP’s 2026 Match analysis and the NRMP’s 2026 Main Residency Match Results:
These numbers do not include SOAP outcomes. SOAP outcomes are not published by NRMP until later in the spring, usually May. Ninety-nine percent of family medicine’s open residency spots are typically filled through the SOAP process.
- Family medicine offered 5,512 positions, which is 133 more than in 2025 and 13.4% of positions offered in all specialties.
- 4,613 medical students and graduates matched to family medicine residency programs (categorical and combined) in 2026. The following is a breakdown of those matches:
- 1,512 U.S. allopathic medical school (MD) seniors
- 1,404 U.S. osteopathic medical school (DO) seniors
- 585 U.S. international medical graduates (IMGs)
- 962 non-U.S. IMGs
- 96 previous graduates of U.S. MD-granting schools
- 54 previous graduates of U.S. DO-granting schools
- 848 family medicine categorical programs participated in the 2026 Match, up 31 from 2025 (817).
- The overall fill rate of 83.7% decreased from 85.0% the year prior and was the lowest fill rate since 2006.
- Family medicine had the highest number of programs in the 2026 Match (848), followed by Internal Medicine (Categorical) (788), and Psychiatry (434).
- Family medicine had the second-highest number of positions offered (5,491 – categorical), with internal medicine (categorical) offering the most positions (11,194), and emergency medicine in third (3,198).
The AAFP’s 2026 Match Results for Family Medicine webpage offers an in-depth analysis of the 2026 Match and historical outcomes including trends, data tables, and workforce resources.
David Galván
Medical school: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Residency program: Creighton University East Valley Family Medicine Residency | Arizona
“I was very excited leading up to Match Day to know where I would get to train. I luckily had many good options to put on my list. I am very happy with the result and excited for this new chapter. I hope to train broadly to be a well-rounded family doctor.”
Ohio Family Medicine Match Highlights
Ohio joins the top eight states across the United States in offering the most training positions in the 2026 Match. Since 2015, Ohio has greatly increased its number of family medicine programs, positions offered, and applicants matched. Ohio has grown from 18 programs, 116 positions, and 100 matched applicants in 2015, to the following numbers for the 2026 Match:
These numbers do not include SOAP outcomes. SOAP outcomes are not published by NRMP until later in the spring, usually May. Eighty-seven percent of Ohio’s family medicine residency spots are typically filled through the Main Match and SOAP process.
- 37 family medicine residency programs participated in the 2026 Match, up 2 from 2025.
- 216 family medicine positions were offered, up 13 from 2025.
- 155 applicants matched to Ohio family medicine positions in 2026, the lowest match number since 2018. 2025 matched 179 applicants.
- From 2015 to 2026, 2026 was the only year that more Ohio family medicine residency programs did not fully fill in the main Match, than did fill.
- California, Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina, and Washington are the top 10 states in order of number of positions offered. Combined, these states offered 2,935 positions in the 2026 Match – over half of the positions for family medicine.
- Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine: 13
- Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Medicine: 22
- The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine: 22
- The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences: 13
- Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine: 13.
Not all medical school Match results were accessible online at the time this article was written.
Jack Spero
Medical school: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency program: Northwell Plainview Hospital Family Medicine Residency | New York
“Advocating and assisting people in their pursuit to achieve their individualized health goals has always been a goal of mine.”
AAFP Initiative Aims to Make 2027 Match Even Better
Source: AAFP
The number of family medicine positions offered has increased 17 years in a row, but the United States still is projected to need up to 40,400 more primary care physicians by 2036. As the number of family medicine residency programs has increased (from 200 programs in 2012 to more than 800 in 2025) to meet that need, so has the number of programs that were unfilled after the Main Match (from 64 to 288 last year).
The AAFP launched a Residency Selection Improvement Initiative (RSII) in August 2025 to identify improvements that can make the process more effective, efficient, and economical for both applicants and residency programs. One focal point is the number of positions that are unfilled after the Main Match, which rose by 94 slots this year. Those improvements include creating a centralized resource for applicants to find comprehensive information about family medicine residencies by incorporating information from the Academy’s residency directory into the AAMC’s Residency Explorer.
The Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors recently agreed to adopt six RSII’s recommendations for improving the interview process starting with Match 2027. Those changes will be included when new Organization of Program Director Associations guidelines for family medicine applicants and programs are published this spring.
“The fact that we have more unfilled positions does show the importance of RSII,” AAFP Vice President for National Residency and Academic Partnerships Karen Mitchell, MD, FAAFP, said. “We are leading efforts to improve the family medicine residency selection process to make it easier for applicants and programs to find each other. I am proud that the AAFP is fully investing in our future generation of family physicians to make sure that patients across the country have access to primary care.”
The AAFP is also working with policymakers to address physician shortages by securing funding for family medicine residency programs, including the teaching health centers, and strengthening student loan repayment programs, Dr. Mitchell said.
The OAFP would like to send congratulations to all of our student members who matched last week! We’d like to highlight match stories like yours on our social media, website, and/or in future publications to share with members. If you are interested in being featured, please send the following to Caitlin Laudeman:
- Name
- Medical School
- Residency program name and state
- What you’re looking forward to in your family medicine career, reflections on your journey to Match Day, or any other thoughts you would like to share
- A photo of you.