Comparison of residency-trained and nonresidency-trained family physicians in North Carolina

The objective of the present study was to compare the content and medical practice activities of residency-trained (RT) to nonresidency-trained (NRT) family physicians in North Carolina. Interviews and patient ambulatory encounter information were collected from 41 RT physicians and 44 NRT physicians. Significant differences between physicians were found in practice location, number of patient encounters per week, patient age distributions, and rank orders of the ten most frequent diagnosis clusters. The RT physicians tend to work longer hours and see fewer patients, and they are more likely to perform obstetric and pediatric services. Both groups treat a broad range of the patient population, with RT serving more pediatric patients and NRT seeing more geriatric patients.