MINNEAPOLIS, April 3, 2008—"The 2008 Match was an historic one," said Paul H. Rockey, M.D., MPH, director of the American Medical Association's division of graduate medical education.

The Match, held March 20 nationwide, featured the largest pool of applicants ever—28,737—vying for one of 22,240 first-year residency positions.

Minnesota med students: Tell us your Match stories. We'll reprint them in this space.

These stats were made available by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).

Another historic trend was the surge in interest in family medicine among American med school seniors, with 1,156 of new M.D.s matching to family medicine—up from 1,096 last year. About 7.6 percent of seniors matched in family medicine, in all.

During the annual Match ritual, fourth-year medical students find out where they will study as residents – becoming official doctors-in-training.

At 11 a.m. on March 20, University of Minnesota students opened small white envelopes to discover for the first time which hospital or program they were accepted to complete their residency training. When students learned their assignments, they called family and friends with the news.

Plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery, dermatology, otolaryngology, diagnostic radiology, radiation oncology, and general surgery were the most popular specialties nationwide.

Rockey cited a a recent USA Today article, which made clear that it will take physician reimbursement reform and loan forgiveness to make family medicine more appealing over the long haul.

Complete Match results are available online via the NRMP website.