{"id":16695,"date":"2026-10-06T23:13:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=16695"},"modified":"2026-10-07T00:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T22:26:13","slug":"medical-residency-crisis-egypt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/medical-residency-crisis-egypt\/","title":{"rendered":"1,400 Doctors Left Without a Specialty as Hospitals Report Shortages and the Ministry Holds Its Position"},"content":{"rendered":"

Egypt\u2019s Health and Population Ministry announced the results of its 2026 medical residency allocation<\/a> on July 30, 2026. The round exposed imbalances that angered newly assigned doctors, particularly graduates of the class of 2023, as an unusually high share\u2014including high academic scorers\u2014were left without a match to any of their preferences.<\/p>\n

The ministry had canceled the December 2025 round and merged it with May 2026 into a single main round for 2026<\/a>. Its stated objective<\/a> was to unify electronic coordination and consolidate the ministry\u2019s reserve and specialist staffing requirements.<\/p>\n

After doctors waited more than two years, parliamentarians raised the delay<\/a> to the December 2025 round. The Medical Syndicate also urged the health minister<\/a> to announce the main 2026 results after an unprecedented delay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Syndicate head Dr. Osama Abdel Hay told Zawia3 that explanations for the delay referred to \u201cproblems related to the scientific calculation.\u201d<\/p>\n

By August 4, roughly 30% of applicants had exhausted their preferences<\/a>, leaving 1,400 doctors without a specialty or training institution. Previous rounds typically left 6\u20138% unmatched. The problem affected not just middling scorers but doctors with grades of 85\u201391%<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Statistics and documents obtained by Zawia3 show changing specialty demand between September 2022 and December 2024. Requirements in the main round rose from 15,300 to 37,500 posts, alongside another 37,500 in the second round and about 2,300 in teaching hospitals.<\/p>\n

Family medicine requirements rose from 1,863 in September 2022 to 5,003 in December 2024; intensive care from 948 to 2,396; and anesthesia from 1,068 to 2,101.<\/p>\n

Documented staffing requirements: 77,330 specialist posts<\/strong> across Health Ministry and teaching-hospital rounds, through mid-2025.<\/p>\n

\nView the full specialty requirements (52 entries)<\/summary>\n
Staffing requirements by specialty<\/figcaption>
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Specialty \/ sector<\/th>\nPosts required<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Family medicine (Health)<\/td>\n10006<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Emergency medicine (Health)<\/td>\n5256<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Intensive care<\/td>\n4952<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Family planning (Health)<\/td>\n4784<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Anesthesia<\/td>\n4468<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Radiology<\/td>\n3890<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Internal medicine<\/td>\n3246<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nephrology<\/td>\n2912<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
General surgery<\/td>\n2850<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatrics Preterm infants (Health)<\/td>\n2660<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatrics (Health)<\/td>\n2558<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Intensive care Pediatrics (Health)<\/td>\n1580<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatrics and Preterm infants (Teaching)<\/td>\n142<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clinical pathology<\/td>\n2404<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Orthopedics<\/td>\n1911<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Psychiatry and neurology (Health)<\/td>\n1802<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neurology (Teaching)<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Blood bank (Health)<\/td>\n1774<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Obstetrics and gynecology<\/td>\n1544<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chest medicine<\/td>\n1414<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bacteriology<\/td>\n1416<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cardiology and vascular medicine<\/td>\n1403<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Urology<\/td>\n1340<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vascular surgery<\/td>\n1212<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fever (Health)<\/td>\n1096<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neurosurgery<\/td>\n1107<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nose and Ear<\/td>\n971<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
System Gastrointestinal and Liver<\/td>\n1008<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Surgery Liver and System Gastrointestinal (Teaching)<\/td>\n20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ophthalmology<\/td>\n873<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cardiothoracic surgery<\/td>\n850<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rheumatology and rehabilitation<\/td>\n813<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clinical oncology (Health)<\/td>\n744<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oncology and radiotherapy (Teaching)<\/td>\n54<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Plastic surgery and burns<\/td>\n770<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Surgery Pediatrics<\/td>\n693<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Histopathology<\/td>\n548<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Surgical oncology<\/td>\n418<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audiology<\/td>\n380<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Speech therapy<\/td>\n347<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dermatology<\/td>\n349<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hematology (Health)<\/td>\n238<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatric oncology (Health)<\/td>\n136<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clinical nutrition (Health)<\/td>\n112<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Geriatrics (Health)<\/td>\n88<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quarantine (Health)<\/td>\n62<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatrics and neonatology (Health)<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Radiotherapy (Health)<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Infection control (Teaching)<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quality assurance (Teaching)<\/td>\n21<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Public health and community medicine (Teaching)<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Endocrinology (Teaching)<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>
Source: statistics obtained by Zawia3 from informed sources after their removal from official websites.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/details>\n
Requirements in five residency allocation rounds<\/figcaption>
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Round<\/th>\nMain Health Ministry<\/th>\nSecond Health Ministry<\/th>\nTeaching hospitals<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
September 2022<\/td>\n15259<\/td>\n9260<\/td>\n2271<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 2023<\/td>\n17130<\/td>\n17130<\/td>\n2327<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
December 2023<\/td>\n24765<\/td>\n7234<\/td>\n2559<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 2024<\/td>\n34494<\/td>\n34494<\/td>\n2132<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
December 2024<\/td>\n37508<\/td>\n37508<\/td>\n2314<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>
Source: statistics obtained by Zawia3 from informed sources after their removal from official websites.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Selected specialty requirements: main Health Ministry round<\/figcaption>
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Specialty<\/th>\nSeptember 2022<\/th>\nMay 2023<\/th>\nDecember 2023<\/th>\nMay 2024<\/th>\nDecember 2024<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Emergency medicine<\/td>\n289<\/td>\n930<\/td>\n1157<\/td>\n2068<\/td>\n2628<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Anesthesia<\/td>\n1068<\/td>\n859<\/td>\n1441<\/td>\n1788<\/td>\n2101<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Intensive care<\/td>\n948<\/td>\n1279<\/td>\n1272<\/td>\n2381<\/td>\n2396<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Internal medicine<\/td>\n693<\/td>\n679<\/td>\n1099<\/td>\n1630<\/td>\n1557<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatrics<\/td>\n459<\/td>\n417<\/td>\n519<\/td>\n885<\/td>\n1279<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatrics and neonatology<\/td>\n518<\/td>\n667<\/td>\n636<\/td>\n881<\/td>\n1330<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nephrology<\/td>\n1224<\/td>\n941<\/td>\n1679<\/td>\n1668<\/td>\n1417<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Orthopedics<\/td>\n215<\/td>\n507<\/td>\n702<\/td>\n981<\/td>\n916<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
General surgery<\/td>\n397<\/td>\n616<\/td>\n885<\/td>\n1479<\/td>\n1364<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Obstetrics and gynecology<\/td>\n289<\/td>\n270<\/td>\n378<\/td>\n624<\/td>\n729<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Urology<\/td>\n371<\/td>\n454<\/td>\n587<\/td>\n743<\/td>\n648<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Family medicine<\/td>\n1863<\/td>\n60<\/td>\n2811<\/td>\n6021<\/td>\n5003<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>
Source: statistics obtained by Zawia3 from informed sources after their removal from official websites.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Selected specialty requirements: teaching hospitals<\/figcaption>
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Specialty<\/th>\nSeptember 2022<\/th>\nMay 2023<\/th>\nDecember 2023<\/th>\nMay 2024<\/th>\nDecember 2024<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Radiology<\/td>\n122<\/td>\n129<\/td>\n142<\/td>\n139<\/td>\n158<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Anesthesia<\/td>\n221<\/td>\n252<\/td>\n265<\/td>\n266<\/td>\n266<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Internal medicine<\/td>\n116<\/td>\n123<\/td>\n137<\/td>\n169<\/td>\n132<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Intensive care<\/td>\n196<\/td>\n174<\/td>\n177<\/td>\n162<\/td>\n160<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cardiology and vascular medicine<\/td>\n122<\/td>\n96<\/td>\n127<\/td>\n76<\/td>\n91<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nephrology<\/td>\n92<\/td>\n53<\/td>\n95<\/td>\n91<\/td>\n78<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
General surgery<\/td>\n95<\/td>\n98<\/td>\n119<\/td>\n81<\/td>\n122<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Orthopedics<\/td>\n81<\/td>\n70<\/td>\n83<\/td>\n52<\/td>\n79<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Urology<\/td>\n50<\/td>\n63<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n50<\/td>\n44<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Obstetrics and gynecology<\/td>\n68<\/td>\n46<\/td>\n83<\/td>\n56<\/td>\n86<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dermatology<\/td>\n38<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n47<\/td>\n44<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ophthalmology<\/td>\n49<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n49<\/td>\n36<\/td>\n45<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>
Source: statistics obtained by Zawia3 from informed sources after their removal from official websites.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Supporting source tables: first original table<\/a> and second original table<\/a> (Arabic source documents).<\/p>\n

Affected doctor Abdelrahman Ashraf says applicants were surprised by the merger of the 2025 fellowship and May 2026 rounds and an eight- or nine-month delay beyond the usual announcement date. He says the latest round involved about 4,900 doctors, roughly 1,400 of whom received none of their requested placements.<\/p>\n

The crisis extends beyond the number without specialties to how allocation was managed and the absence of normally published annual data, particularly the minimum-score file showing numbers accepted in each specialty and hospital and their admission thresholds, he told Zawia3.<\/p>\n

Some applicants obtained places they had not selected, while others were assigned to the bottom of their lists, Ashraf says. Detailed data that would allow transparent scrutiny were not published.<\/p>\n

Hospitals had declared their actual staffing needs<\/a>, he adds, but the numbers available in the allocation were, in his account, much lower than departmental and hospital requirements.<\/p>\n

\"Posts
Posts in a medical residency Facebook group urge doctors to wait for a proposed meeting and demand an explanation for the unusually high proportion of unmatched applicants. Names were obscured in the original screenshots.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Ahmed El Sayed, rapporteur of the Medical Syndicate\u2019s youth committee, says unmatched preferences are normally part of residency allocation. What raises questions is their appearance among high-scoring doctors applying to places and specialties that had previously failed to fill their requirements.<\/p>\n

He told Zawia3 that an official explanation is needed of how requirements and preferences were calculated, particularly where applicants believe their grades qualified them for specific specialties but they nevertheless received no match.<\/p>\n

El Sayed describes the 2026 announcement delay as unprecedented compared with previous rounds, and sees delays becoming recurrent in the management of assignments and residencies.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/div>\n

Hospitals report shortages of medical staff<\/h2>\n

Affected doctor Amr El Minyawy says hospitals need many doctors but insufficient residency posts were included for them.<\/p>\n

Some hospitals announced vacancies and even contracted staff to meet shortages, he told Zawia3. He questions why those hospitals did not offer residency places, alleging that Bulaq Hospital\u2019s announced staffing needs were not reflected in the 2026 round.<\/p>\n

Ashraf says the head of urology and andrology at Al Ahrar Hospital in Zagazig personally told him the department needed seven doctors, yet only one 2026 place was offered, despite vacancies remaining unfilled in previous rounds.<\/p>\n

He alleges that Sharqia\u2019s centers and hospitals received only 25 internal medicine doctors in the latest round compared with about 250 in the previous 2024 cohort, while Zagazig University hospitals alone received 28. He presents internal medicine as a clear example of the problem.<\/p>\n

Lower admissions in some specialties place added pressure on hospital doctors amid departmental shortages, he says, while other doctors remain without specialties despite meeting requirements and applying within the specified period.<\/p>\n

Mohamed El Mazzin, another affected applicant, says Al Obour Health Insurance Hospital has seven gastroenterology residents, including two fellowship holders, but only one resident post was included in the 2026 allocation.<\/p>\n

Ashraf further alleges that ophthalmology and dermatology were not offered at all in the latest round. Excluding whole specialties from an entire cohort requires a clear explanation, he argues, particularly where departments have announced needs.<\/p>\n

Ophthalmology and dermatology were available in previous rounds<\/figcaption>
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Specialty<\/th>\nSeptember 2022<\/th>\nMay 2023<\/th>\nDecember 2023<\/th>\nMay 2024<\/th>\nDecember 2024<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Ophthalmology \u2013 Main round<\/td>\n203<\/td>\n247<\/td>\n482<\/td>\n575<\/td>\n414<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dermatology \u2013 Main round<\/td>\n136<\/td>\n62<\/td>\n187<\/td>\n243<\/td>\n155<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ophthalmology \u2013 Second round<\/td>\n161<\/td>\n247<\/td>\n186<\/td>\n575<\/td>\n414<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dermatology \u2013 Second round<\/td>\n118<\/td>\n62<\/td>\n122<\/td>\n243<\/td>\n155<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ophthalmology \u2013 Teaching<\/td>\n49<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n49<\/td>\n36<\/td>\n45<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dermatology \u2013 Teaching<\/td>\n38<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n47<\/td>\n44<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>
Source: statistics obtained by Zawia3 from informed sources after their removal from official websites.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/svg><\/div>\n

Young doctors question the explanation<\/h2>\n

Ashraf says some well-intentioned explanations suggest the allocation may be directing doctors toward shortages in family or emergency medicine. He alleges, however, that only about 45 doctors received family medicine and 20 emergency medicine out of approximately 4,900 applicants.<\/p>\n

Doctors want detailed hospital requirements<\/a>, seat numbers and minimum scores published so they can verify the coordination process and understand how results were produced, he says.<\/p>\n

Continued uncertainty could affect medical training<\/a> and hospitals\u2019 ability to fill vacancies, Ashraf warns, and push more doctors to emigrate in search of stable training and employment.<\/p>\n

Mahmoud Ali, another affected doctor, questions why applicants were recorded as having exhausted their preferences in places that had not filled their needs in earlier rounds.<\/p>\n

He alleges some places remained unfilled through several rounds over the past three years before being shown as exhausted this time, warranting an official explanation.<\/p>\n

Yasser El Gaffary says the result differed unexpectedly from previous rankings of the places he selected. His score exceeded their historical minimums by at least about three percentage points in every previous round, yet he received no match.<\/p>\n

Doctors also need current specialty and institution admission thresholds to interpret unmatched results against grades and preference rankings, he says.<\/p>\n

Mahmoud Awad says doctors selected locations unfilled in earlier rounds but received results raising questions. Before announcement, they requested actual requirements by specialty and location but received no clear answer, according to his account.<\/p>\n

Awad calls on the ministry to explain the results, warning that continued uncertainty could drive some doctors to leave its service. They need \u201can explanation of what is happening,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The documented 2026 allocation contains 3,568 matched doctors in 42 specialties<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nView all 42 specialties and their matched doctor counts<\/summary>\n
Matched doctors by specialty<\/figcaption>
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Specialty<\/th>\nDoctors<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Diagnostic radiology<\/td>\n349<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Internal medicine<\/td>\n238<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nephrology<\/td>\n218<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Psychiatry and neurology<\/td>\n212<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
General surgery<\/td>\n190<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gastroenterology and hepatology<\/td>\n189<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ear, nose and throat<\/td>\n175<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Intensive care<\/td>\n202<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Anesthesia<\/td>\n75<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Emergency medicine<\/td>\n41<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Family medicine<\/td>\n45<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neonatology<\/td>\n155<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatrics and neonatology (Teaching)<\/td>\n44<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatrics<\/td>\n136<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatric intensive care<\/td>\n145<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Orthopedics<\/td>\n141<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cardiology and vascular medicine<\/td>\n133<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Plastic surgery and burns<\/td>\n121<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Obstetrics and gynecology<\/td>\n116<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rheumatology and rehabilitation<\/td>\n110<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Urology Urinary<\/td>\n76<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Respiratory medicine<\/td>\n73<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Surgical oncology<\/td>\n37<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vascular surgery<\/td>\n37<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clinical oncology<\/td>\n37<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatric surgery<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audiology<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neurosurgery<\/td>\n29<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clinical pathology<\/td>\n28<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Histopathology<\/td>\n24<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neurology<\/td>\n23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hematology<\/td>\n23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Family planning<\/td>\n18<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fever and infectious diseases<\/td>\n15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cardiothoracic surgery<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatric oncology<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Endocrinology and diabetes<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Blood bank<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clinical nutrition<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Speech therapy<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quality assurance<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bacteriology<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>
Source: statistics obtained by Zawia3 from informed sources.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/details>\n