Is Training in a Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Associated with a Career in Primary Care Medicine?

Marion Stanley, Bridget O’Brien, Katherine Julian, Sharad Jain, Patricia Cornett, Harry Hollander, Robert B. Baron, R. Jeffrey Kohlwes*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

PURPOSE: Professional and governmental organizations recommend an ideal US physician workforce composed of at least 40 % primary care physicians. They also support primary care residencies to promote careers in primary care. Our study examines the relationship between graduation from a primary care or categorical internal medicine residency program and subsequent career choice. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional electronic survey of a cohort of internal medicine residency alumni who graduated between 2001 and 2010 from a large academic center. Our primary predictor was graduation from a primary care versus a categorical internal medicine program and our primary outcome is current career role. We performed chi-square analysis comparing responses of primary care and categorical residents. RESULTS: We contacted 481 out of 513 alumni, of whom 322 responded (67 %). We compared 106 responses from primary care alumni to 169 responses from categorical alumni. Fifty-four percent of primary care alumni agreed that the majority of their current clinical work is in outpatient primary care vs. 20 % of categorical alumni (p < 0.001). While 92.5 % of primary-care alumni were interested in a primary care career prior to residency, only 63 % remained interested after residency. Thirty of the 34 primary care alumni (88 %) who lost interest in a primary care career during residency agreed that their ambulatory experience during residency influenced their subsequent career choice. CONCLUSIONS: A higher percentage of primary care alumni practice outpatient primary care as compared to categorical alumni. Some alumni lost interest in primary care during residency. The outpatient clinic experience may impact interest in primary care.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1333-1338
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of general internal medicine
Volume30
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 19 2015

Funding

This study was funded in part by the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute of the University of California, San Francisco. The UCSF Academy of Medical Educators provided valuable feedback for the construction of the survey instrument, but was not involved in the collection, interpretation, or preparation of the final manuscript.

Keywords

  • medical education-career choice
  • medical education-outcomes research
  • primary care
  • workforce

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Internal Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Is Training in a Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Associated with a Career in Primary Care Medicine?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this