The effects of primary care versus traditional training on career choice in pediatrics

In response to concerns questioning the relevance for future pediatric generalists of traditional hospital-based, subspecialty-oriented pediatric residency training, new residency programs emphasizing increased ambulatory, continuity care training experiences have been developed.We compared the career activities of physicians who had received their pediatric residency training in the traditional, predominantly inpatient program and in the predominantly ambulatory primary care program at the University of California, San Francisco. Three groups were surveyed: (1) pre-1975, those who received training in the traditional program before 1975, (2) post-1975, those who were trained in the traditional program after 1975 and (3) primary care, those who received their training in the primary care program beginning in 1975. The results indicate that more than twice as many former primary care residents as traditional residents are practicing primary care. Since the development of two pediatric training tracks, satisfaction with program relevance has increased among those who practice primary care. The results indicate that there is a greater commitment to primary care practice among residents trained in the primary care program.