The American Academy of Sleep Medicine congratulates the record-breaking number of 188 physicians who matched with a sleep medicine fellowship training program Nov. 29 during “Match Day” for the 2024 appointment year. This year’s sleep medicine match also involved the most programs, positions, and applicants in its history.
Each fellow will join one of 102 sleep medicine training programs in the U.S. After completing a one-year fellowship, the physicians will be eligible for the sleep medicine board certification exam. Sleep fellows have already completed a residency in internal medicine, neurology, psychiatry, pediatrics, otolaryngology, family medicine, or anesthesiology.
The sleep medicine match is conducted annually by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Specialties Matching Service (SMS). Applicants are “matched” to programs using the rank order lists of applicants and program directors, which are processed by the NRMP matching algorithm.
Sleep medicine participates as a multidisciplinary specialty in the Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match, which includes more than 30 subspecialties. Applicants can rank any of the included subspecialty programs on the same rank list and elect to participate in the combined match.
Sleep Medicine Match Statistics
According to the 2023 match results statistics for July 2024 appointment, there were 213 certified positions available from 102 certified programs, an increase from 201 certified positions and 99 certified programs last year. Of the 200 certified applicants with rank who selected sleep medicine as their preferred specialty, 183 were matched with a sleep medicine program, one matched to a different specialty, and 16 did not match to any program. Five other physicians who preferred another specialty were matched with a sleep medicine program. (Preferred specialty is defined as the specialty ranked first on the applicant’s primary rank order.) Eighty-three percent of programs, and 88% of positions, were filled by the match. Applicants who did not match to a program will be able to access a list of unfilled programs in the NRMP system.
| Appointment Year | Certified Programs | Certified Positions | Certified Applicants with Rank (Preferring Sleep Medicine) |
Positions Filled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 102 | 213 | 200 | 188 |
| 2023 | 99 | 201 | 190 | 178 |
| 2022 | 95 | 193 | 198 | 179 |
| 2021 | 86 | 179 | 187 | 165 |
| 2020 | 84 | 180 | 172 | 148 |
| 2019 | 86 | 180 | 160 | 147 |
| 2018 | 82 | 170 | 172 | 150 |
Innovative Training Pathways
To expand the training pathways available for the sleep medicine specialty, the AASM is piloting two models as part of the Advancing Innovation in Residency Education (AIRE) initiative. Approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), these programs are testing new training and assessment tools developed by the AASM through two novel fellowship training pathways: a part-time model and a model blending sleep training with additional specialty training.
Sleep Medicine Fellowship Directors Council
The AASM also coordinates a Sleep Medicine Fellowship Directors Council (SMFDC) Steering Committee, which recommends and develops resources to support sleep medicine fellowship programs and program directors. Learn more about its mandate and goals on the AASM Committees page.
Learn more about the sleep medicine specialty on the Choose Sleep page.
