Portugal fills most medical training spots but leaves family medicine vacant

The Administração Central do Sistema de Saúde (ACSS) reported that 1,912 out of 2,338 available medical internship positions in Portugal were filled for the 2027 training cycle.

This represents an 82% occupancy rate for the various specialties available within the Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS). The selection process concluded on Tuesday and marked the first time the agency used a fully digital, asynchronous format to organize the placements.

The ACSS noted that while 71% of the 49 specialties reached 100% occupancy, some critical areas remained understaffed. For instance, the agency filled all 102 available spots in anesthesiology and all 71 spots in gynecology and obstetrics. Conversely, internal medicine saw only 57% of its 216 positions filled. The data also showed that while the recruitment of family medicine doctors rose to 72%, 186 of those spots remain vacant.

The Associação Nacional de Estudantes de Medicina (ANEM) criticized the fact that 426 training positions remain unfilled. The group argued that the government needs to take urgent action to make family medicine and internal medicine more appealing to new doctors. Of the 546 candidates who did not secure a spot, 444 chose to withdraw while 102 submitted choices but were not placed in an SNS unit.