National Study of Internal Medicine Manpower: XIX. Trends in internal medicine residency training programs

The National Study of Internal Medicine Manpower (NaSIMM) reports on the results of its 1989-1990 census of residency programs. The results are integrated into an organizational model identifying inputs, process, outputs, and environment of medical training programs. The number of residents entering internal medicine continues to grow at a relatively rapid pace. This growth is largely accounted for by foreign citizens who are graduates of foreign medical schools (AFMGs). Residents are spending an increasing proportion of their time in ambulatory care settings, but, thus far, this ambulatory care training has occurred primarily in hospital clinics and emergency rooms. The proportion of a program's residents entering general internal medicine was found in a multiple regression analysis to be negatively associated with the number of subspecialty programs located in the training hospital, the percent of AFMG residents in the program, and the presence of a preliminary track in the program.