AAMC: Gender and Racial Diversity On the Rise in US Physician Workforce

Data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) detailed physician workforce trends and highlighted how gender and racial diversity are increasing among medical residents and physicians.

The 2022 Physician Specialty Data Report included data from 2016 to 2021 on active physicians practicing in the US and Puerto Rico and physicians in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) residencies and fellows.

Among 950,000 active physicians in the US, primary care was the most common specialty in 2021. More than 120,000 physicians were in internal medicine, 118,641 were in family medicine/general practice, and 60,305 worked in pediatrics.

Outside of primary care, almost 47,000 physicians worked in emergency medicine, 22,262 physicians specialized in cardiovascular disease, and 18,948 were in ophthalmology.

Primary care was also the top specialty for first-year residents and fellows, with 11,297 individuals. Family medicine/general practice had 4,856 residents and fellows, 2,820 were in emergency medicine, and 1,072 were in cardiovascular disease.

Most active physicians (819,007) identified patient care as their major professional activity, followed by research (12,357) and teaching (12,248).

Nearly 64 percent of active physicians were White, 20.6 percent were Asian, 6.9 percent were Hispanic, and 5.7 percent were Black or African American. Just over 1 percent of physicians were of multiple races and non-Hispanic, while less than 1 percent were American Indian or Alaska Native (0.3 percent) or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Island (0.1 percent).

The most common specialties varied by race and ethnicity, AAMC found. For example, obstetrics and gynecology, preventive medicine, and child and adolescent psychiatry were the most popular specialties for Black or African American physicians. Meanwhile, nephrology, interventional cardiology, and geriatric medicine were most prevalent among Asian physicians.

“One clear takeaway is that physicians from groups underrepresented in medicine are more concentrated in primary care and a few other specialties, like pain medicine and pain management,” Michael Dill, director of workforce studies for AAMC, said in the press release.

AAMC data found that medical school enrollment for the 2022-23 school year increased by 3 percent. The number of Black matriculants grew by 9 percent and the number of first-year Black men increased by 5 percent. Additionally, the number of matriculants who are Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish origin rose by 4 percent and accounted for 12 percent of total matriculants.

The report also found that 37.1 percent of active physicians in the US were women. This share has risen yearly since 2007 when it was 28.3 percent.

In addition, the number of medical students who are women continues to grow. During the 2022-23 school year, women made up 57 percent of applicants, 56 percent of matriculants, and 54 percent of total enrollment.

Women accounted for the majority of active physicians in specialties that focus on children, women, and families, including pediatrics (65 percent), obstetrics and gynecology (60.5 percent), pediatric hematology/oncology (55.7 percent), child and adolescent psychiatry (54.6 percent), and neonatal-perinatal medicine (54.2 percent).

Meanwhile, women were a significant minority in specialties like orthopedic surgery (5.9 percent), thoracic surgery (8.3 percent), and neurological surgery (9.6 percent).

“Year after year, we see women physicians remain concentrated in the same specialties,” Dill added. “That tells us we have much more work to do in terms of gender equity in the physician workforce.”

Certain specialties grew in 2021, including sports medicine, up by 42.5 percent, and pediatric anesthesiology, up by 37.7 percent. Other specialties, like general surgery, radiology and diagnostic radiology, and orthopedic surgery, were down.

Among ACGME residents and fellows, sports medicine and psychiatry saw the most growth, while preventive medicine and pediatric anesthesiology saw the most significant decreases.

The physician workforce is also aging, with 46.7 percent of active physicians in the US 55 years or older in 2021, rising from 44.9 percent in 2019. Preventive medicine (71.4 percent) and cardiovascular disease (64.9 percent) had the highest share of older doctors, while sports medicine (91 percent) and pediatric anesthesiology (89.4 percent) had the highest percentage of doctors under age 55.