Institutional Strategies to Boost Medical School Graduates Entering Family Medicine

With a projected primary care physician shortage, efforts must be made to increase the number of students choosing family medicine. Studies have explored what might influence student choice of family medicine, though questions remain about the impact of medical school policies and processes, including for admissions, as well as longitudinal tracks. This study explores some of these structural and institutional factors and how they are associated with rates of students entering into family medicine in subsequent years.

Responses from a 2016 survey of family medicine department chairs were matched to 2017-2019 institutional family medicine graduate rates to compare the rates of students entering family medicine with (a) inclusion of primary care or family medicine in the medical school's mission statement; (b) perceived support of the dean's office in increasing family medicine teaching and leadership presence in the medical school curriculum; (c) whether the admissions committee had a charge to seek out applicants interested in primary care; and (d) the presence of Liaison Committee on Medical Education designated tracks in primary care/family medicine.

Overall, schools whose admissions committees had a specific charge to seek out applicants interested in primary care were consistently more likely than their peer institutions to match more students into family medicine. Other institutional factors may play a role, particularly school mission statements and rural longitudinal tracks. The results of this study have helped to identify where departments of family medicine might focus institutional advocacy to support learners in choosing and subsequently matching into family medicine.