Full disclosure, I graduated from medical school a while ago and am not in primary care. That being said, sorting through all of the available programs in a specialty is a common problem facing medical students as they prepare for residency applications. I think, regardless of the specialty, before you start going through programs, ask yourself a few questions:
1. Do I want a larger residency program with lots of co-residents and faculty to be trained by, or a smaller class with fewer faculty?
2. Am I considering more of an academic program, community program, or somewhat of a mixture?
3. Where do I foresee myself living during residency? Around family? Leaving my home state for a new adventure? Big city? Rural community? A certain region of the country? A certain coast? A certain state? Etc. As residency is an uncomfortable time for all and you will spend many hours at work, where will I have the best “out of work” scenario?
4. Am I interested in research or a research career? Academics might be more your thing.
5. Am I interested in a fellowship? Academics or attending a program that has that fellowship may be beneficial.
6. Am I interested in being an all-around specialist and generalist? If so, maybe attending an unopposed program that you’re not having to compete for procedures and experiences with other residencies or fellows may be better. Sometimes community programs are better for this.
7. If married, in a serious relationship, where will my significant other be happy? That’s incredibly important to consider as well. Be very honest with yourself. When I applied, my significant other and I talked about all the places I could apply to, where I eventually interviewed at, and how I would rank.
I am sure others will have advice as well, but this is a place to start.
