Choosing Primary Care: Factors Influencing Graduating Osteopathic Medical Students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Physician Workforce Studies
• Public Health

Background:

• Primary care access is crucial for health outcomes and cost reduction.
• A shortage of primary care physicians presents an ongoing challenge.
• Osteopathic medical schools are key in addressing this physician shortage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors influencing osteopathic medical students' choice of primary care specialties.
• To examine the role of sex and five key factors in this decision.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine graduate survey (2007-2016).
• Evaluation of self-reported practice decision considerations: intellectual/technical content, debt, lifestyle, prestige/income, and personal experience.
• Comparison of these factors between graduates choosing primary care versus non-primary care specialties.

Main Results:

• Women were 1.75 times more likely to choose primary care than men.
• Lifestyle was the most important factor for all graduates, regardless of specialty.
• Students choosing primary care were less influenced by prestige/income and more by lifestyle compared to non-primary care students.
• Debt level significantly influenced students pursuing non-primary care specialties.

Conclusions:

• Graduate sex significantly influences specialty choice, with women favoring primary care.
• All five analyzed factors showed significant differences between primary care and non-primary care specialty choices.
• Lifestyle is a major driver, and debt level is a significant factor for non-primary care specialty selection.