Impact of a Targeted Rural and Underserved Track on Medical Student Match Into Family Medicine and Other Needed Workforce Specialties.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

There is a shortage of physicians in rural communities in the United States. More than other types of primary care physicians, family physicians are the foundation for care in rural areas.1 There are also critical shortages of other specialties such as general surgery, pediatrics, internal medicine, and psychiatry in rural America.2-7 This study assessed student participation in the University of Washington School of Medicine's (UWSOM) Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST) program as a predictor for family medicine (FM) and needed workforce specialty residency match.

METHODS

The study group was 156 medical students from 2009-2014; 102 were accepted to the TRUST program compared to a control group of 54 who were not accepted into the TRUST program but did matriculate to UWSOM. Student characteristics for the two groups were compared using t tests. Logistic regression analysis determined whether acceptance in TRUST predicted the outcomes measures of FM residency match or residency match into a needed rural physician workforce specialty; t tests compared match rates to family medicine for TRUST applicants and graduates, UWSOM graduates, and US allopathic seniors.

RESULTS

TRUST program graduates had the same FM residency match rate and match rate in needed workforce specialties as the control group. The FM match rate for TRUST graduates was 29.1% compared to UWSOM at 16.9% and US seniors at 8.7% (P<.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Although match rates in FM and needed workforce specialties were not different in accepted versus not accepted groups, all TRUST applicants had an FM match rate that approaches 30%, which is higher than the general UWSOM class and the United States. In order to help reach the goal of 25% of medical students matching into FM by 2030, medical schools should consider having a rural program and using rural-focused admissions widely.