Entry of US medical school graduates into family practice residencies: 1998-1999 and 3-year summary

This is the 18th report prepared by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) on the percentage of each US medical school's graduates entering family practice residency programs. Approximately 15.4% of the 16,114 graduates of US medical schools between July 1997 and June 1998 were first-year family practice-residents in October 1998, compared with 16.6% in 1997 and 15.9% in 1996. Medical school graduates from publicly funded medical schools were almost twice as likely to be first-year family practice residents in October 1998 than were residents from privately funded schools, 18.8% compared with 10.7%. The Mountain region reported the highest percentage of medical school graduates who were first-year residents in family practice programs in October 1998 at 22.0%; the Middle Atlantic and New England regions reported the lowest percentages at 9.9% and 8.7%, respectively. Half of the medical school graduates (50.0%) entering a family practice residency program as first-year residents in October 1998 entered a program in the same state where they graduated from medical school. The percentages for each medical school have varied substantially from year to year since the AAFP began reporting this information. This article reports the average percentage for each medical school for the last 3 years. Also reported are the number and percentage of graduates from colleges of osteopathic medicine who entered Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited family practice residency programs, based on estimates provided by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.