Exploring the Contributions of Combined Model Regional Medical Education Campuses to the Physician Workforce

Bibliographic Data

ID21614124
AuthorsJoanna Bates (0000-0001-6940-2946, J. Bateswas professor emerita, Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at the time this work was done; ORCID:.), Paul Grand’Maison (P. Grand’Maisonis professor, Departments of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.), Sandra R Banner (S.R. Bannerwas CEO, Canadian Resident Matching Service, from 1986 to 2016, and is Director of Admissions for Canada, St. George’s Medical School, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.), Chris Y Lovato (University of British Columbia), Kevin W Eva (0000-0002-8672-2500, K.W. Evais professor and director of education research and scholarship, Department of Medicine, and associate director and senior scientist, Centre for Health Education Scholarship, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; ORCID:., corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume96
Issue3
Pages409-415
Publication date2021-03-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAcademic Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1040-2446 • E-ISSN: 1938-808X
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/acm.0000000000003560
PMID32618604
OpenAlexW3038310406
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited23

PURPOSE: Physician shortages and maldistribution, particularly within family medicine, have led many medical schools worldwide to create regional medical campuses (RMCs) for clerkship training. However, Canadian medical schools have developed a number of RMCs in which all years of training (i.e., a combined model that includes both preclerkship and clinical training) are provided geographically separate from the main campus. This study addresses the question: Are combined model RMC graduates more likely to enter postgraduate training in family medicine and rural-focused programs relative to main campus graduates? METHOD: The authors used a quasi-experimental research design and analyzed 2006-2016 data from the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). Graduating students (N = 26,525) from 16 Canadian medical schools who applied for the CaRMS match in their year of medical school graduation were eligible for inclusion. The proportions of graduates who matched to postgraduate training in (1) family medicine and (2) rural-focused programs were compared for combined model RMCs and main campuses. RESULTS: Of RMC graduates, 48.4% matched to family medicine (95% confidence interval [CI] = 46.1-50.7) compared with 37.1% of main campus graduates (95% CI = 36.5-37.7; P < .001). Of RMC graduates, 23.9% matched to rural-focused training programs (95% CI = 21.8-25.9) compared with 10.4% of main campus graduates (95% CI = 10.0-10.8; P < .001). Subanalyses ruled out a variety of potentially confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS: Combined model RMCs, in which all years of training take place away from the medical school's main campus, are associated with greater proportions of medical students entering family medicine postgraduate training and rural-focused training programs. These findings should encourage policymakers, health services agencies, and medical schools to continue seeking complements to academic medical center-based medical education

Economic shortage · Family medicine · Medical education · Political science · Workforce · Diversity and Career in Medicine · Global Health Workforce Issues · Medical Education and Admissions · Medicine · Psychology

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