There has been a a tremendous amount of press and discussion recently regarding the projected shortage of primary care physicians. With the advent of the Affordable Care Act many are predicting that there will not be enough primary care providers to address the needs of an influx of insured individuals. Many medical schools are putting new or increased focus on producing primary care doctors. A fascinating article was recently published in the Washington Monthly addressing this issue. In the article, there are two charts listing medical schools which produce the most and least primary care physicians. You may be surprised by the results. Here is a chart of the top 20 schools whose residency programs train the most primary care doctors:
The schools producing the fewest primary care physicians are listed below. Again, you may be surprised by the schools on this list.
Why does this matter? If you’re interested in pursuing a primary care field you may want to go to an institution which has a strong tradition of training residents in those fields. You may find stronger mentoring, a core group of like-minded students, and more support for your goals.
–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting