National Study of Internal Medicine Manpower: VII. Residency and fellowship training 1976-1977 through 1980-1981.

A complete census of the number of residents training in internal medicine and fellows in subspecialty training for 1979-1980 and 1980-1981 has been compiled by the National Study of Internal Medicine Manpower. Complete information is now available for the 5-year period from 1976-1977 through 1980-1981. The number of first year residents in internal medicine continues to rise. A constant percentage (35% to 38%) of the graduating class of United States medical schools has entered these programs each year for over a decade. The number of first year fellows in subspecialty training, which in the first half of the 1970s rose 10% to 11% annually, has declined slightly in the second half of the 1970s and has been stable in the past 2 years. The net result of the increasing number of residents and the decreasing number of fellows is a rising proportion of internists entering general internal medicine and a proportionate decline in those choosing subspecialty careers.