Three US doctors have filed a lawsuit calling for changes in the 50 year old system that determines where medical school graduates spend their residencies. They claim that the present system is monopolistic and anticompetitive and results in residents working long hours for artificially depressed pay.

The lawsuit asks for class action status, which if granted would put the number of plaintiffs at more than 200 000. It names as defendants the National Residency Matching Program and the medical organisations and hospitals that support it. Michael Freed, a Chicago attorney who supports the case, …