The Impact of Graduate Medical Education on Physician Maldistribution

Topic Overview

Access to health care options in the United States is largely dependent on the community in which one lives; a maldistribution of Primary Care Providers (PCPs) leaves rural and underserved communities with a disproportionately low volume of clinicians1. It has been established that Graduate Medical Education (GME) has an impact on graduates location of practice– most staying within 100 miles of their residency program2. Additionally, those residents who have completed training in rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, or critical access hospitals are more likely to practice in these settings3.

How can GME help resolve the lack of providers in underserved communities? Join us for the 71st Primary Care Forum to explore GME based solutions to the maldistribution of PCPs in the United States.

In partnership with the GME Initiative »(www.gmeinitiative.org)

Panelists

Ted Epperly, MD
President and Chief Executive Officer
Family Medicine Health Center, Boise, ID
Board of Directors
Council on Graduate Medical Education

Joseph Gravel, MD
Senior VP and Chief Medical Officer
Chair, Family Medicine & Community Health
Greater Lawrence Family Health Center

Erin Fraher, PhD, MPP
Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine
Director, Carolina Health Workforce Center

Moderator

Alison Huffstetler, MD
Robert L. Phillips, Jr, Health Policy Fellow
Robert Graham Center

  1. Brooks RG, Walsh M, Mardon RE, Lewis M, Clawson A. The roles of nature and nurture in the recruitment and retention of primary care physicians in rural areas: a review of the literature. Acad Med J Assoc Am Med Coll . 2002;77(8):790-798.
  2. Fagan BE, Finnegan SC, Bazemore AW, Gibbons CB, Petterson SM. Migration After Family Medicine Residency: 56% of Graduates Practice Within 100 Miles of Training - Graham Center Policy One-Pagers - American Family Physician. Washington DC: Robert Graham Center; 2013. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2013/1115/p704.html. Accessed January 6, 2019.
    3. Phillips RL, Petterson S, Bazemore A. Do residents who train in safety net settings return for practice? Acad Med J Assoc Am Med Coll . 2013;88(12):1934-1940. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000000025

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