Medical schools with active family medicine interest groups appear to match a higher percentage of students into family medicine than their less active counterparts, according to a recent AAFP survey.
The survey asked FMIG faculty advisors to rate the activity of their FMIG programs compared with activity levels of other medical specialty interest groups on campus. Those results were correlated with schools' match rates for family medicine.
Survey: Active FMIGs May Boost Family Medicine Match Rates
By News Staff
12/23/2005
The result: Schools with the most active FMIGs matched an average of 12 percent of graduates into family medicine, while those with relatively inactive FMIGs matched an average of 5 percent of graduates into family medicine.
"The schools with the most active FMIGs tended to have higher match rates" for family medicine, said Jay Fetter, manager of the Student Interest Initiative in the AAFP Division of Medical Education. "We can't make a straight correlation between the activity of the FMIG and match rates, but there is a relationship there."
That relationship could reflect medical school admission policies, said Fetter: The schools most likely to admit students who already are interested in primary care also may have the most active FMIGs. Earlier research into FMIG activity has yielded mixed results regarding the impact of FMIGs on students' choice of family medicine.
Fetter said the survey had some limitations. For example, respondents' answers were subjective rather than objective. Moreover, the definition of activity was not clarified. Activity level of FMIGs can be hard to measure by typical metrics such as student attendance at events sponsored by an interest group and member names on a roster.
Still, "It's an early attempt to see the impact of FMIGs on student interest," said Fetter.
"The schools with the most active FMIGs tended to have higher match rates" for family medicine, said Jay Fetter, manager of the Student Interest Initiative in the AAFP Division of Medical Education. "We can't make a straight correlation between the activity of the FMIG and match rates, but there is a relationship there."
That relationship could reflect medical school admission policies, said Fetter: The schools most likely to admit students who already are interested in primary care also may have the most active FMIGs. Earlier research into FMIG activity has yielded mixed results regarding the impact of FMIGs on students' choice of family medicine.
Fetter said the survey had some limitations. For example, respondents' answers were subjective rather than objective. Moreover, the definition of activity was not clarified. Activity level of FMIGs can be hard to measure by typical metrics such as student attendance at events sponsored by an interest group and member names on a roster.
Still, "It's an early attempt to see the impact of FMIGs on student interest," said Fetter.
