Geriatric medicine among least popular options for new docs

By the numbers: There were 204 applicants to geriatric medicine fellowships and 382 positions offered in 2025. In the end, more than 100 openings went unfilled.

• 44.2% of positions in geriatric medicine went filled by graduates of U.S. medical schools in 2025, among the lowest of any subspecialty. That is down from 52% in 2021.
• Geriatric medicine was one of the top five specialties with the highest percentages of positions filled by U.S. students who studied medicine abroad.
• The American Geriatrics Society estimates there will be more than 71 million Americans age 65 and older by 2030 and that the medical system will have to train roughly 1,600 geriatricians per year to meet projected demand.

The big picture: There were 14,833 medical school graduates seeking a fellowship match in 2025, up by 799 over last year.

• There were 14,620 positions offered, up 451 positions from 2024. Roughly 85% of the positions were filled.
• There were more than 1,900 applicants for the cardiovascular disease residency, 1,131 for pulmonary medicine and critical care, and 1,121 for gastroenterology.