GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — FOX 17 took a trip to the doctor's office on Wednesday, in Corewell Health's new 275 Michigan Street building. The office is full of doctors who work in the specialty of family medicine. We took a closer look at family medicine and why fewer people are going into the specialty.
“There are definitely more doctors needed in family medicine, as our population ages and the current family medicine doctors retire,” Dr. Lauren Snyder said.
Match Day is an exciting time when medical students find out their future as residents. But what about the doctors who don't match with a position, or the jobs that go unfilled?
“We need more people to take care of our communities, and family medicine doctors and other primary care doctors need to be there to fill that role,” Snyder said.
Dr. Lauren Snyder with Corewell Health says roughly one third of family medicine positions nationwide went unfilled immediately following Match Day 2025.
More people did eventually get placed into family medicine after going unmatched with another program. Ultimately, roughly 15% of family medicine positions went unfilled.
“I think there are a lot of reasons why that gap exists. I think one of the biggest reasons is med school graduates are leaving with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. And people going into primary care know that their salaries will be a fraction of that of the subspecialists,” Snyder said.
It brings challenges for the specialty that so many people rely on.
“We see time and time again that people trust their primary care doctors. People who have primary care doctors live longer. They have better health outcomes. They’re able to navigate all the confusing information out there with someone that’s an ally for them,” Snyder said.
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