Overview
- Health officials reported the year closed with 18,757 specialists in training, up from 8,124 in 2018, contributing to a five-year total of 45,000 additional specialists.
- Residency capacity expanded across public institutions with 2,816 added slots in the Health Ministry, 4,982 in IMSS, 1,533 in ISSSTE and 198 in Pemex hospitals.
- Two assignment rounds under the revamped selection process concluded on October 20–31 and December 19, with a final residual round set for February 18, 2026, and residencies beginning March 1, 2026.
- Growth concentrated in priority fields, including epidemiology rising from about 60 to 368 annually and emergency medicine to roughly 2,400, alongside gains in traumatology, pediatrics, surgery, internal medicine and imaging.
- For the 2026 cycle, the government projects 18,926 physicians in training and frames the expansion as a long-term investment in the public health system.