Training positions grew 76% in a decade, but teaching faculty grew only half as fast
STUDY: Dotson S et al, Academic Psychiatry 2026
STUDY TYPE: Commentary/perspective article
FUNDING: Independent
Background
As psychiatry faced workforce shortages, medical schools opened new residencies and expanded existing ones. This editorial from three psychiatric educators argues the teaching staff did not follow.
Summary
Psychiatry residency positions grew 76% from 2015 to 2025, and the number of programs nearly doubled. Full-time faculty grew only 33% over the same stretch, thinning the ratio of experienced supervisors to trainees. In the 2026 Match, US MD applicants fell for the first time in a decade, and the fill rate hit its lowest point since 2011, with the most unfilled positions since 2003. The authors cite family medicine and emergency medicine, both of which grew fast and then hit Match trouble, as cautionary tales.
Practice Implications
- Medical students: Ask about faculty-to-resident ratios as you select a program.
- Practicing psychiatrists: Consider volunteering to teach at your local residency program.
—Chris Aiken, MD
Director, Psych Partners
Editor in Chief, Carlat Psychiatry Report
