Latest updates on ACP's priorities, initiatives

Record high match reflects vital role of internal medicine physicians

Internal medicine remained the largest training specialty in the 2025 Main Residency Match, offering more than one-quarter (27%) of all PGY-1 positions. Internal medicine programs offered a record high 10,941 categorical positions within a record high 758 training programs. A record high 10,584 categorical positions (96.7%) were filled, resulting in the first Match of over 10,000 physicians into internal medicine training. However, primary care internal medicine Match positions declined to 411 offered positions, continuing a five-year-long decline.

Of the categorial positions, 5,664 (53.5%) were matched by U.S. medical school seniors, 1,145 (10.8%) by U.S. citizen students/graduates of international medical school (U.S. IMGs), and 3575 (33.8%) by non-U.S. citizen students/graduates of international medical school (non-US IMGs).

ACP remains concerned about the continued decline in offered and matched primary care positions given the nationwide shortage of primary care physicians. ACP supports adoption of a national workforce policy that would promote a mix of physician specialties that meets the health care needs of our population. ACP also supports adequate payments for primary care services, lifting caps on graduate medical education for specialties facing shortages, and health care delivery system reforms to encourage an increase in internal medicine physicians and other primary care physicians.

ACP offers new AI Resource Hub

ACP has launched a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Resource Hub featuring curated resources.

A new online course from ACP, “Generative AI for Internal Medicine Physicians,” explores the capabilities and applications of generative AI in health care, offering hands-on practice and insights into how large language models impact clinical practice. Additional tools and resources on the hub include an obesity management conversation tool, access to DynaMedex with Dyna AI, ACP's policy paper “Artificial Intelligence in the Provision of Health Care,” and an on-demand webinar, “Harnessing AI as a Tool for Health Equity.”

The ACP AI Resource Hub is online.

ACP calls for urgent policy action on rural health.

A recent ACP policy paper, “Improving Health and Health Care in Rural Communities,” warns of a severe health crisis in rural communities as residents face higher mortality rates from various diseases and are particularly affected by “diseases of despair” and rising maternal mortality rates. ACP recommends addressing social determinants of health, increasing funding for rural health care programs, and supporting the rural health care workforce.

Additionally, ACP emphasizes the need for better support for rural health care professionals, including incorporating rural health education into medical training and expanding opportunities for international medical graduates. To address physician shortages, the paper recommends incentives for recruitment and retention, including improved reimbursement policies. The College also advocates for relaxed licensure requirements to expand telehealth services in underserved areas.

Recognizing the diversity of rural communities, the ACP paper stresses that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work and that policies must be tailored to meet the unique needs of different rural populations. The position paper was published by Annals of Internal Medicine on April 1.