The relationship between a statewide preceptorship program and family medicine residency selection

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which participation in the California Academy of Family Physicians Foundation Family Medicine (FM) Preceptorship Program, as well as medical school, degree earned, gender, and match year predicted FM residency match.

Allopathic and osteopathic students who applied to the preceptorship program from 1996 to 2002 were followed until residency match. Chi-square (chi(2)) analysis was used to compare preceptorship participants, nonparticipants (students who applied but did not complete the preceptorship), and nonapplicants (students who did not apply to the preceptorship) for FM match rates and to compare participants to nonparticipants for primary care match rates. FM match data for California schools from 1999 to 2005 were used to perform a logistic regression predicting FM match.

Twenty-four percent of participants matched into FM residency programs whereas only 13% of nonparticipants and 13% of nonapplicants selected FM (chi(2) = 24.97; P < .001). There was not a statistically significant difference between the proportion of participants and nonparticipants who matched into primary care (chi(2) = 0.12; P = .73). Odds ratio results of logistic regression for participants compared with nonapplicants matching into FM was 2.7 (95% CI, 2.0-3.6; P < .001).

Preceptorship program participants were more likely than both nonparticipants and nonapplicants to select a FM residency.