Challenges and Perspectives to the Rise in General Psychiatry Residency Applications

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the average number of allopathic applicants to psychiatry in 2013 was 316. Collectively, these national and regional data illustrate that interest in psychiatry has increased over the last 5 years, resulting in both a reduced ratio of available positions to U.S. graduates and a rise in unmatched applicants [2]. According to the regional medical school, applicants want to be invited to schedule at least ten interviews to ensure a high likelihood of match. The literature offers a number of solutions to address the rising costs of the interview process for applicants and programs, some more provocative than others [3, 5–7].