1993 West Virginia family practice residents: demographics and future plans.

To call attention to the concerns of the 92 family practice residents in the five programs in West Virginia and assist with their retention, a questionnaire was mailed to these physicians. The questions asked concerned their home states, future plans, educational debts, salary expectations, recruiting preferences, and their suggestions on how to interest more medical students into this specialty. The responses to the survey provided valuable information regarding how to improve retention of family practice residents in the state, as well as increase the number of medical students entering family medicine. In addition, the survey showed the Bureau of Public Health, the Kellogg Program and the Rural Health Initiative Program are not as effective as they could be in recruiting family practice residents to practice in underserved areas of the state.