Despite 100% of orthopedic residency positions being filled in 2025, seven states still lack programs for up-and-coming practitioners.
Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming all lack orthopedic residency programs, according to data from the National Resident Matching Program released March 21, which may spell trouble for the future of orthopedics in the state.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges’ 2019 residency report, 54.6% of residents who completed their programs over an eight-year period stayed to practice medicine in the same state as their residency.
States with a lack of residency programs could suffer, as students choose to stay with the systems where they train.
For these seven states, this could be an added struggle on top of already predicted surgeon shortages and an aging orthopedic surgeon population.
Orthopedic surgeons are already among the oldest physician specialists, with the average practicing orthopedic surgeon being 56. With more surgeons nearing retirement age, imminent shortages are on the horizon.
A 2021 Merrit Hawkins report predicted that by 2025, there would be a deficit of over 5,000 orthopedic surgeons in the U.S.
“With the ongoing crisis of physician shortages without obvious solutions in the future, more patients will experience delays in access to basic orthopedic care, which is a critical component to musculoskeletal outcomes and reducing overall healthcare costs,” Philip Louie, MD, spine surgeon at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Tacoma, Wash., told Becker’s.
“This shortage will slowly trickle down toward a public health crisis that will leave many musculoskeletal injuries without the timely and proper care that is necessary. These types of shortages and poor access to care have been unfortunately common in rural and underserved areas, but we may start to observe these struggles in larger urban areas as well. Populations that are often marginalized due to various geographic barriers and socioeconomic disparities will be further marginalized over time, as access to orthopedic care will be further restricted.”
Currently, Idaho has the fewest orthopedic surgeons on record, at 31, while South Dakota is also in the bottom half of the list, with 150. There is no data available for the other five states that lack residency programs.
