Sports medicine saw the biggest jump in the number of physicians in the last five years, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges' "2022 Physician Specialty Data Report."
The report is based on data from the American Medical Association, the Census Bureau and a national resident database and tracking system. It covers about 950,000 physicians and physicians in training among 48 of the largest specialties in 2021.
Here are five specialties that saw the most growth between 2016 and 2021, based on percent changes in the number of active physicians:
Sports medicine — up 42.5 percent
2016: 2,252 active physicians
2021: 3,208 active physicians
Pediatric anesthesiology — up 37.7 percent
2016: 2,065
2021: 2,843
Interventional cardiology — up 32.6 percent
2016: 3,572
2021: 4,736
Critical care medicine — up 30.1 percent
2016: 10,883
2021: 14,159
Sports medicine (orthopedic surgery) — up 26 percent
2016: 2,432
2021: 3,065