Collaborating to Achieve the Optimal Family Medicine Workforce.

When the Family Medicine for America's Health (FMAHealth) Workforce Education and Development Tactic Team (WEDTT) began its work in December 2014, one of its charges from the FMAHealth Board was to increase family physician production to achieve the diverse primary care workforce the United States needs. The WEDTT created a multilevel interfunctional team to work on this priority initiative that included a focus on student, resident, and early-career physician involvement and leadership development. One major outcome was the adoption of a shared aim, known as 25 x 2030. Through a collaboration of the WEDTT and the eight leading family medicine sponsoring organizations, the 25 x 2030 aim is to increase the percentage of US allopathic and osteopathic medical students choosing family medicine from 12% to 25% by the year 2030. The WEDTT developed a package of change ideas based on its theory of what will drive the achievement of 25 x 2030, which led to specific projects completed by the WEDTT and key collaborators. The WEDTT offered recommendations for the future based on its 3-year effort, including policy efforts to improve the social accountability of US medical schools, strategy centered around younger generations' desires rather than past experiences, active involvement by students and residents, engagement of early-career physicians as role models, focus on simultaneously building and diversifying the family medicine workforce, and security of the scope future family physicians want to practice. The 25 x 2030 initiative, carried forward by the family medicine organizations, will use collective impact to adopt a truly collaborative approach toward achieving this much needed goal for family medicine.

Results of the 2017 National Resident Matching Program® and the American Osteopathic Association Intern/Resident Registration Program.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of medicine as a profession is to meet the health needs of people and communities. Despite empirical evidence worldwide that an appropriate foundation of primary care in a health care system leads to improved health outcomes, improved experience of health care, a reduction in health disparities, and lower overall cost of care, publicly available data from National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Intern/Resident Registration Program show that PGY-1 family medicine and primary care positions offered in the NRMP Match continue to grow, but are losing ground in comparison to the growth of non-primary care specialties. In ACGME-accredited family medicine programs, DO students have been displacing non-US citizen IMGs while the proportion of US seniors has remained stable over the past decade. The impact of the displacement of non-US citizen IMGs by DO students in ACGME programs is unknown and deserves future research. Continuing trends in the growth of non-primary care specialties should raise great concern that the current primary shortage will be exacerbated, not serving the needs of the population. A major overhaul of the graduate medical education (GME) system is required to align the medical education system with the transformation of the health care system needed to improve quality, population health, and cost control.

Entry of Medical School Graduates Into Family Medicine Residencies: 2016-2017.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This annual report is an expansion on previous reports in this series that provides further evidence that the current medical school system is failing, collectively, to produce the primary care workforce that is needed to achieve optimal health in the United States. Inclusion of data on the performance of DO-granting and international medical schools, creates a more complete and complex picture of the contribution of all medical school types to the primary care workforce that should allow stakeholders to set goals, identify institutions with models from which to learn, and develop strategies for continuous improvement. US MD graduates made up 49% of the entering first-year class of family medicine residencies accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), a percentage that is not statistically changed from the 11-year average of 46%. Over the same time, the percentage of DO graduates in the entering class has been increasing at an annual rate of 1%, while the percentage of international graduates has been decreasing in a reciprocal manner. Production of family medicine graduates has varied widely between and within medical school types. The number of graduates entering family medicine programs accredited by the ACGME underrepresents the overall family medicine output by US medical schools since up to a third of DO graduates have historically entered residencies accredited only by the American Osteopathic Association. While marked differences between public and private continue among US MD-granting medical schools, the percentages are nearly equal between public and private for DO-granting medical schools, with a slightly higher percentage for private schools.

Results of the 2016 National Resident Matching Program®: 1986-2016: A Comparison of Family Medicine, E-ROADs, and Other Select Specialties.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This article is a continuation in a series of national studies conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians that reports the performance of family medicine and other primary care specialties in the National Residency Matching Program® (NRMP) Main Residency Match, hereafter called the Match. Match data from 1986-2016 were analyzed to compare the numbers of positions offered and filled in family medicine, other primary care specialties, emergency medicine, diagnostic radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, and dermatology (E-ROAD), and other select specialties. Of the 10 largest specialties defined by the greatest number of positions offered in the 2016 Match, all but one (general surgery) have experienced growth since 1986.Overall, the total number of positions offered in the Match grew by an average of 226 positions per year. At the same time, primary care specialties grew 19 positions per year, and E-ROAD specialties grew by 72 positions per year. The disproportionate growth of subspecialties overall, notably the E-ROAD subspecialties, relative to the modest growth of primary care specialties, makes the goal of better health care harder to achieve. The GME portion of physician workforce pipeline is mismatched to the health needs of the nation, and this mismatch is worsening.

Entry of US Medical School Graduates Into Family Medicine Residencies: 2015-2016.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This is the 35th national study conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) that reports retrospectively the percentage of graduates from MD-granting and DO-granting medical schools who entered Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited family medicine residency programs as first-year residents. Approximately 8.7% of the 18,929 students graduating from US MD-granting medical schools and 15.5% of the 5,314 students graduating from DO-granting medical schools between July 2014 and June 2015 entered an ACGME family medicine residency in 2015. Together, 10.2% of graduates of MD- and DO-granting schools entered family medicine. Of the 1,640 graduates of the MD-granting medical schools who entered a family medicine residency in 2015, 80% graduated from 70 of the 134 schools (52%). In 2015, DO-granting medical schools graduated 823 into ACGME-accredited family medicine residencies, 80% graduating from 19 of the 32 schools (59%). In aggregate, medical schools west of the Mississippi River represent less than a third of all MD-granting schools but have a rate of students selecting family medicine that is 40% higher than schools located east of the Mississippi. Fifty-one percent (24/47) of states and territories containing medical schools produce 80% of the graduates entering ACGME-accredited family medicine residency programs. A rank order list of MD-granting medical schools was created based on the last 3 years' average percentage of graduates who became family medicine residents, using the 2015 and prior AAFP census data.

Entry of US Medical School Graduates Into Family Medicine Residencies: 2014-2015.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This is the 34th national study conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) that reports retrospectively the percentage of graduates from US MD-granting and DO-granting medical schools who entered Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited family medicine residency programs as first-year residents in 2014. Approximately 8.5% of the 18,241 students graduating from US MD-granting medical schools between July 2013 and June 2014 entered a family medicine residency. Of the 1,458 graduates of the US MD-granting medical schools who entered a family medicine residency in 2014, 80% graduated from 69 of the 131 schools. Eleven schools lacking departments or divisions of family medicine produced only a total of 26 students entering family medicine. In aggregate, medical schools west of the Mississippi River represent less than a third of all US MD-granting schools but have an aggregate rate of students selecting family medicine that is two-thirds higher than schools to the east of the Mississippi. A rank order list of US MD-granting medical schools was created based on the last 3 years' average percentage of graduates who became family medicine residents, using the 2014 and prior AAFP census data. US MD schools continue to fail to produce a primary care workforce, a key measure of social responsibility as measured by their production of graduates entering into family medicine. DO-granting and international medical school graduates filled the majority of ACGME-accredited family medicine first-year resident positions in 2014.

Results of the 2015 National Resident Matching Program:® Family Medicine-A Comparison With 1997 and 2009.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This article is a continuation in a series of national studies conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians that reports the performance of family medicine and other primary care specialties in the National Residency Matching Program® (NRMP) Main Residency Match, hereafter called the Match. 2015 Match data were compared to 1997, the year of the highest number of family medicine positions offered and positions filled by US seniors in the Match and 2009, the year of the lowest number of family medicine positions offered and positions filled by US seniors in the Match. Despite a 31% growth in the number of US seniors matching into family medicine since 2009, that number remains 39% lower than the number of US seniors matching into family medicine in 1997 (1,422 versus 2,340). There were 442, or approximately 10%, fewer positions offered in all primary care specialties and 1,194 fewer US seniors matching into primary care in the 2015 Match than in the 1997 Match. Primary care specialties were defined by the authors to include family medicine categorical as well as combined programs (family medicine-psychiatry, family medicine-emergency medicine, family medicine-preventive medicine, and family medicine-internal medicine), medicine-pediatrics, medicine primary care, and pediatrics primary care as listed in the NRMP publications. Family medicine offered 80% of all primary care positions in the 2015 Match. Sixty-nine percent of all US seniors matching into primary care in 2015 matched into family medicine residency programs.

Five Key Leadership Actions Needed to Redesign Family Medicine Residencies.

BACKGROUND: New skills are needed to properly prepare the next generation of physicians and health professionals to practice in medical homes. Transforming residency training to address these new skills requires strong leadership. OBJECTIVE: We sought to increase the understanding of leadership skills useful in residency programs that plan to undertake meaningful change. METHODS: The Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice (P4) project (2007-2014) was a comparative case study of 14 family medicine residencies that engaged in innovative training redesign, including altering the scope, content, sequence, length, and location of training to align resident education with requirements of the patient-centered medical home. In 2012, each P4 residency team submitted a final summary report of innovations implemented, overall insights, and dissemination activities during the study. Six investigators conducted independent narrative analyses of these reports. A consensus meeting held in September 2012 was used to identify key leadership actions associated with successful educational redesign. RESULTS: Five leadership actions were associated with successful implementation of innovations and residency transformation: (1) manage change; (2) develop financial acumen; (3) adapt best evidence educational strategies to the local environment; (4) create and sustain a vision that engages stakeholders; and (5) demonstrate courage and resilience. CONCLUSIONS: Residency programs are expected to change to better prepare their graduates for a changing delivery system. Insights about effective leadership skills can provide guidance for faculty to develop the skills needed to face practical realities while guiding transformation.

Impact of proposed institute of medicine duty hours: family medicine residency directors' perspective.

PURPOSE: To examine the opinions of family medicine residency program directors concerning the potential impact of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) resident duty hour recommendations on patient care and resident education. METHODS: A survey was mailed to 455 family medicine residency program directors. Data were summarized and analyzed using Epi Info statistical software. Significance was set at the P < .01 level. RESULTS: A total of 265 surveys were completed (60.9% response rate). A majority of family medicine residency program directors disagreed or strongly disagreed that the recent IOM duty hour recommendations will, in general, result in improved patient safety and resident education. Further, a majority of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that the proposed IOM rules would result in residents becoming more compassionate, more effective family physicians. CONCLUSION: A majority of family medicine residency program directors believe that the proposed IOM duty hour recommendations would have a primarily detrimental effect on both patient care and resident education.

Preparing the personal physician for practice: changing family medicine residency training to enable new model practice.

After two years of intensive study, in 2004 the Future of Family Medicine report concluded that the current U.S. health care system is inadequate and unsustainable, and called for changes within the specialty of family medicine to ensure the future health of the American public. With guidance and encouragement from many disciplines and health experts, a set of 10 recommendations was established to accomplish a transformative change in how family physicians serve their patients and how the essential function of primary care is achieved. From these recommendations came a period of innovation and experimentation in the training of family physicians, entitled Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice (P4). The P4 project is a carefully designed and evaluated initiative led by the American Board of Family Medicine and the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors and administered by TransforMED, a practice redesign initiative of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Fourteen family medicine programs were chosen to participate and will put their innovations into practice from 2007 to 2012, during which time regular evaluation will be conducted. The purpose of P4 is to learn how to improve the graduate medical education of family physicians such that they are prepared to be outstanding personal physicians and to work in the new models of practice now emerging. The innovations tested by P4 residencies are expected to inspire substantial changes in the content, structure, and locations of training of family physicians and to guide future revisions in accreditation and certification requirements.

Results of the 2006 National Resident Matching Program: family medicine.

The results of the 2006 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) reflect a currently stable level of student interest in family medicine residency training in the United States. Compared with the 2005 Match, 26 more positions (with the same number of US seniors) were filled in family medicine residency programs through the NRMP in 2006, at the same time as four more (five fewer US seniors) in primary care internal medicine, one fewer in pediatrics-primary care (12 more US seniors), and four more (19 more US seniors) in internal medicine-pediatric programs. Many different forces, including student perspectives of the demands, rewards, and prestige of the specialty; the turbulence and uncertainty of the health care environment; lifestyle issues; and the impact of faculty role models continue to influence medical student career choices. Two more positions (nine more US seniors) were filled in categorical internal medicine. Two fewer positions (11 fewer US seniors) were filled in categorical pediatrics programs. The 2006 NRMP results suggest that interest in family medicine and primary care careers continues to be stable. With the needs of the nation calling for the roles and services of family physicians, family medicine matched too few graduates through the 2006 NRMP to meet the nation's needs for primary care physicians.

Results of the 2005 national resident matching program: family medicine.

The results of the 2005 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) reflect a currently stable level of student interest in family medicine residency training in the United States. Compared with the 2004 Match, 19 more positions (66 fewer US seniors) were filled in family medicine residency programs through the NRMP in 2005, at the same time as four fewer (18 fewer US seniors) in primary care internal medicine, seven more in pediatrics-primary care (three fewer US seniors), and 12 fewer (21 fewer US seniors) in internal medicine-pediatrics programs. In comparison, 25 more positions (four more US seniors) were filled in anesthesiology but two fewer (14 fewer US seniors) in diagnostic radiology, two "marker" disciplines that have shown increases over the past several years. Many different forces, including student perspectives of the demands, rewards, and prestige of the specialty, the turbulence and uncertainty of the health care environment, lifestyle issues, and the impact of faculty and resident role models, continue to influence medical student career choices. Seven more positions (57 more US seniors) were filled in categorical internal medicine while 48 more positions (68 more US seniors) were filled in categorical pediatrics programs, where trainees perceive options for either practicing as generalists or entering subspecialty fellowships, depending on the market. With the needs of the nation, especially for rural and underserved populations, continuing to offer opportunities for family physicians, family medicine experienced another slight increase through the 2005 NRMP. The 2005 NRMP results suggest that interest in family medicine and primary care careers continues to be stable.

Results of the 2004 national resident matching program: family medicine.

The results of the 2004 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) reflect a leveling in the recent trend of declining student interest in family medicine residency training in the United States. Compared with the 2003 Match, 34 more positions (36 fewer US seniors) were filled in family medicine residency programs through the NRMP in 2004, at the same time as 14 fewer (four fewer US seniors) in primary care internal medicine, 10 more in pediatrics-primary care (one more US senior), and 35 more (38 more US seniors) in internal medicine-pediatric programs. In comparison, one less position (one more US senior) was filled in anesthesiology and seven fewer (five more US seniors) in diagnostic radiology, two "marker" disciplines that have shown increases over the past several years. Many different forces, including student perspectives of the demands, rewards, and prestige of the specialty; the turbulence and uncertainty of the health care environment; liability protection issues; and the impact of faculty and resident role models, continue to influence medical student career choices. A total of 165 more positions (12 more US seniors) were filled in categorical internal medicine while 164 more positions (15 more US seniors) were filled in categorical pediatrics programs, where trainees perceive options for either practicing as generalists or entering subspecialty fellowships, depending on the market. With the needs of the nation, especially for rural and underserved populations, continuing to offer opportunities for family physicians, family medicine experienced a slight increase through the 2004 NRMP. The 2004 NRMP suggests that the trend away from family medicine and primary care careers may be leveling off.