Practice patterns of graduates of a CCFP(EM) residency program: a survey

To determine the practice settings of graduates of a residency program that leads to a Certificate of Special Competence in Emergency Medicine (CCFP[EM]).

Web-based survey using standard Dillman methodology.

Canada.

All graduates of the CCFP(EM) residency training program at the University of Toronto (U of T) in Ontario between 1982 and 2009.

Practice type and location, job satisfaction, and nonclinical EM activities of graduates of a CCFP(EM) residency program.

Of 146 graduates surveyed, 88 responded (response rate of 60.3%). All of the respondents indicated that they had practised EM at some point after completing the CCFP(EM) program at U of T. At survey completion, 76.7% were practising EM. Of the EM-practising cohort, 93.9% worked in urban or suburban hospitals as opposed to rural settings. Those practising EM expressed high levels of job satisfaction, with 83.3% reporting a score of 8 or higher on a 10-point satisfaction scale. Most (57.0%) of the graduates of the CCFP(EM) residency program at U of T had participated in leadership activities in EM on local, provincial, or national levels.

Most graduates of the CCFP(EM) residency program continue to practise EM, and most of them practise in urban and suburban environments. The low attrition rate of CCFP(EM) graduates should be regarded as a success of the CCFP(EM) program, and the geographic distribution of all physicians, including EM providers, warrants further study to help plan future physician resources in Canada.