FM program national rank

[undereducated]

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Hi people,

I matched into FM this year and while I'm excited about it, I can't help wonder how good or bad of a program mine is compared nationally. I remember interviewing at one program (not the one I matched) that boasted about how high they are ranked consistently for the past several years. Interestingly enough, the PD of that program didn't insert a copy of the rank paper into our orientation packet. So I don't remember what organization made that "national rank" list. Does AAFP rank a national list of the programs?

Does anyone know where I can find a list of the programs ranked nation-wide?

Thanks in advance to those who respond.

 

[iatrosB]

They are probably referring to US News and World Report rankings (that is usually what people use). Here's a link to the FM rankings (top 10 anyway):

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/mdr/family

Beware though, this really doesn't reflect how good/bad the program is...it's more of a funding/research ranking thing, not so much clinical.

Good luck

 

[MeowMix]

Colorado is ranked in the top 10. Their FM residency program has not filled in the first round in the past 5 years. That should tell you something about how to interpret these rankings.

I don't know of any other national ranking, and I didn't follow one anyway. Program choice should depend entirely on what is most important to you as an individual, and that's different for everyone. There are almost certainly going to be dozens of very good programs that meet your needs - that's the beauty of FM.

 

[drwatson]

I don't know of any other national ranking, and I didn't follow one anyway. Program choice should depend entirely on what is most important to you as an individual, and that's different for everyone. There are almost certainly going to be dozens of very good programs that meet your needs - that's the beauty of FM.

I couldn't agree more. There are so many FM programs out there and you can definitely find one that fits you. And, as has been said before, you need to find the best program for you; not the best program according to a magazine.

 

[iatrosB]

Colorado is ranked in the top 10. Their FM residency program has not filled in the first round in the past 5 years. That should tell you something about how to interpret these rankings.

I don't know of any other national ranking, and I didn't follow one anyway. Program choice should depend entirely on what is most important to you as an individual, and that's different for everyone. There are almost certainly going to be dozens of very good programs that meet your needs - that's the beauty of FM.

That was exactly my point! 👍

 

[burlypie]

Another thing to consider -- these are all big university programs. I interviewed at 4 of these places, and I actually thought several of the community programs I interviewed at were just as strong, if not stronger, clinically.

Incidentally, Duke is in the top 10 -- didn't they just shut down and then restart their program? How can they have really gotten that good, that fast, if the rankers are looking at anything other than research and funding? Not to bash Duke, of course...but it makes you wonder.

 

[iatrosB]

Incidentally, Duke is in the top 10 -- didn't they just shut down and then restart their program? How can they have really gotten that good, that fast, if the rankers are looking at anything other than research and funding? Not to bash Duke, of course...but it makes you wonder.

Curious indeed.

 

[undereducated]

Well, I understand that it's the "fit" that makes your program good or not, but I guess I just donno if my training will be worse than west coast. I matched into an east coast university program that requires a research paper from the residents in order to graduate and i feel like it's going to be an added stress on top of all that we have to do. I mean, other programs that I interviewed with didn't really stress research so much, and some didn't even care.

I just wanna know, after we get out, in the real world when we try to get jobs, is a university program FM going to look worse than a person who came from an unopposed program?

There's no doubt in my mind that for IM people, university program is a good thing, but I'm just not sure for FM if it's a good thing because there are the unopposed programs that boast about their training.

 

[deleted87716]

I just wanna know, after we get out, in the real world when we try to get jobs, is a university program FM going to look worse than a person who came from an unopposed program?

As long as you're board-eligible, it won't really matter where you did your residency, all other things being equal. In general, the people you'll be interviewing with will have little insight into the relative quality of residency programs that aren't local to them, unless there's some kind of personal connection or unusual notoriety.

IMO, the U.S. News rankings are worthless.

 

[sophiejane]

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/mdr/family

Ridiculous, bizarre, and ridiculous. Seems extremely random. Maybe it's based only on number of residents? Maybe someone at USN&WR is boinking someone at each of those programs?

It's about that random, in my opinion.

 

[iatrosB]

Maybe someone at USN&WR is boinking someone at each of those programs?

That's what my money is on.