The Relationship Between Medical School Clerkships and Primary Care Specialty Choice: A Narrative Review. Fam Med 2022 Jul;54(7):564-571
Date
07/15/2022Pubmed ID
35833937DOI
10.22454/FamMed.2022.857719Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85134428455 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 5 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is a persistent shortage of primary care physicians in the United States. Medical schools can help meet societal primary care health needs by graduating more students who select family medicine and other primary care careers. The objective of this narrative review was to evaluate the relationship between clerkships and primary care specialty choice.
METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature search and narrative review of research articles examining the association between clerkships and primary care specialty choice. We evaluated the quality of included articles using a validated scale, assessed for methodology and outcomes, and synthesized using a narrative approach.
RESULTS: We identified 59 articles meeting our research criteria. A required primary care clerkship in the core clerkship year was associated with increased primary care specialty choice. This finding was strongest for family medicine clerkships and family medicine specialty choice. Clerkships that were longer, were of higher quality, exposed students to a wider scope of primary care practice, and occurred within an institutional climate supportive of primary care were also correlated with more students choosing a primary care specialty. While student self-reported interest in primary care often increased following a primary care clerkship, this interest was not always sustained or consistently associated with a primary care residency match or primary care career.
CONCLUSIONS: Required family medicine and primary care clerkships were correlated with primary care specialty choice. More high-quality research is needed to better understand how to maximize the impact of clerkships on primary care specialty choice.
Author List
Lee AL, Erlich DR, Wendling AL, Morley CP, Prunuske J, Polverento ME, Kovar-Gough I, Phillips JPAuthor
Jacob P. Prunuske MD Assistant Dean, Professor in the Medical School Regional Campuses department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Career ChoiceClinical Clerkship
Family Practice
Humans
Primary Health Care
Schools, Medical
Students, Medical
United States
