Why It Matters
Hawaii’s long-term healthcare workforce depends heavily on where medical school graduates choose to complete their residency training. For a state that has historically faced physician shortages, particularly on neighbor islands, each Match Day outcome carries direct consequences for patient access and healthcare infrastructure across the islands.
Students who match to Hawaii residency programs are statistically more likely to remain in the state to practice medicine, making the annual event a critical moment for long-term health system planning.
What Happened
Graduating students at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) at the University of Hawaii gathered on Match Day to open sealed envelopes revealing where they will complete their medical residencies. The event took place during a recent Kona low weather system that brought overcast skies and rain to Honolulu.
Match Day is a nationally coordinated event that occurs simultaneously at medical schools across the United States every spring. The process is managed through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which uses a competitive algorithm to pair graduating medical students with residency programs based on ranked preference lists submitted by both applicants and programs.
For some JABSOM students, the results confirmed placements at Hawaii-based residency programs, allowing them to continue their medical training without leaving the islands. Others matched to programs on the mainland and abroad.
By the Numbers
2026 national Match Day involved tens of thousands of medical school seniors and graduates competing for residency slots across specialties nationwide. JABSOM, the only accredited medical school in Hawaii, graduates an estimated class of roughly 60 to 70 students annually. Nationally, Match Day 2026 saw record or near-record application volumes in competitive specialties such as orthopedic surgery, dermatology, and neurosurgery. Hawaii is home to fewer than 10 ACGME-accredited residency programs across select specialties, limiting in-state placement options compared to larger mainland academic medical centers. Studies consistently show that more than 50 percent of physicians ultimately practice in the state where they completed their residency training.
Zoom Out
Hawaii is not alone in facing healthcare workforce pipeline challenges tied to residency placement outcomes. Rural and island states across the country — including Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming — have invested in graduate medical education infrastructure specifically to retain physicians trained locally.
The federal government has periodically debated expanding the number of Medicare-funded residency slots to address projected physician shortages nationally, with some estimates suggesting the U.S. could face a shortfall of tens of thousands of doctors within the next decade.
In Hawaii, healthcare access concerns extend beyond Honolulu. Mental health providers on Maui have recently faced job uncertainty as the state extended temporary contracts, highlighting the broader fragility of Hawaii’s healthcare workforce in specialized fields — a challenge that begins with where newly trained doctors choose to establish their careers.
What’s Next
JABSOM graduates who matched to Hawaii programs will begin their residencies in July 2026, when the new academic medical year starts nationwide. Those matched to mainland programs will relocate in the coming months to begin training in their assigned specialties.
The University of Hawaii Health System and affiliated hospitals are expected to continue working with state legislators and health officials to explore ways to expand graduate medical education capacity in Hawaii. Expanding accredited residency slots in high-need specialties — including primary care, psychiatry, and emergency medicine — remains a priority discussion for state health planning officials.
Hawaii’s legislature is currently in session and has in recent years considered measures tied to healthcare workforce development. Governor Josh Green’s recent nomination of Associate Justice Vladimir Devens as the next Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court reflects a broader period of institutional transition across state government, as Hawaii manages multiple workforce and leadership pipeline questions simultaneously.
JABSOM’s next incoming class will begin its four-year medical education program in the fall, with their own Match Day outcome expected in spring 2030.