Anthony Stitt
2026-01-16 20:48:00
January 16, 2026
2 min read
Key takeaways:
- Fewer physicians are entering ID, with only 45% of fellowship programs filled in 2025.
- IDSA president-elect says the downturn is not surprising, with ID facing an “onslaught” in the public eye.
The number of physicians who matched in fellowship programs for adult infectious diseases declined in 2025, according to Match Day stats released in December.
In all, 272 physicians matched with adult ID programs last year — nearly a 14% drop from 2024, when 316 physicians matched. Only 45% of fellowship programs for adult ID were filled in 2025, compared with 51% the previous year.
Data derived from Medicine and pediatric specialties match statistics report. https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-Medicine-and-Pediatric-Specialties-MRS-Report.pdf. Published Dec. 3, 2025. Accessed Jan. 16, 2026.
Pediatric ID remained steady, going from 43 matches in 2024 to 44 last year.
Except for a surge of ID applicants in 2021 — sometimes called “the Fauci effect” — the specialty has historically struggled to recruit physicians for numerous reasons. The latest downward trend is worrisome, according to Wendy S. Armstrong, MD, president-elect of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and head of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Colorado.
“We all knew it was going to be a bad year because of the onslaught that infectious disease (care) and public health have been under in the public eye,” Armstrong told Healio.
Armstrong pointed to “cuts at every level” and “backlash from people consistently telling you that you are trying to hurt people instead of care for people” as reasons for the declining matches.
“That influences folks thinking how they’re going to spend their life. And is a career in infectious disease viable if you can’t obtain funding either to care for patients or to do research?” she said.
Armstrong said compensation continues to be another reason for the low numbers, with ID clinicians ranking near the bottom in salary compared with other specialties.
“I do think a barrier for people is compensation when you’re faced with medical school debt,” she said.
Armstrong said there is a potential comeback for ID in the form of the Bio-Preparedness Workforce Pilot Program — a federal initiative that passed in 2022 to boost ID recruitment, which still awaits Congress to approve funding. A key element of the program is medical school loan forgiveness to help recruit physicians into the ID space.
Armstrong does not expect Congress to allocate funding to the program during the next budgeting cycle. Nevertheless, she remains hopeful for ID’s future, saying, “If you’re doing good work, there’s always hope.”
For more information:
Wendy S. Armstrong, MD, can be reach at [email protected].
Perspective
Regarding the 2025 ID Match, adult ID programs saw a decline in filled positions, while pediatric ID largely held steady. This was an exceptionally difficult year for medicine and science overall given all the changes in our country, and yet trainees are still choosing infectious diseases.
Although I know there is still work to do, this inspires me and highlights that the people who are going into ID are mission-driven and want to make a difference, even if it is hard. It’s difficult to know whether the Match results reflect a short-term fluctuation or a longer-term trend.
Post-Match recruitment, sometimes called the “scramble,” remains critically important and has historically brought ID fellowship numbers much closer to available positions following Match Day. IDSA has invested in this phase by developing a toolkit to support effective and equitable post-Match recruitment.
Salary continues to be a major barrier to ID recruitment. IDSA is actively working to improve compensation, expand loan repayment options, optimize work-life balance, and reduce structural barriers to a career in ID, including streamlining pathways for international medical graduates. I am encouraged by IDSA’s new leadership, including incoming CEO Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH, who has prioritized and advocated for ID workforce issues and improvements in the past.
I am inspired by a quote from Lauren Jackson, who wrote in The New York Times, “While optimism is the belief that the future will be better, hope is the belief that we have the power to make it so.” ID has both the insight and the will to shape its future and the work underway suggests we are doing exactly that.
Darcy A Wooten, MD, MS
Disclosures: Wooten reports no relevant financial disclosures.
Sources/Disclosures
Source:
Reference:
Disclosures:
Armstrong reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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