Service to Patients, Practice Diversity Draw Students to Family Medicine

[deleted87716]

Jacob Guernsey's future lay inside the white envelope. Within it were the names of the medical specialty and residency program that would dictate where he would live for at least the next three years.

Young Jacob fumbled with the envelope; handed it to his father, David Guernsey, for a quick assist; retrieved it; and then slipped the contents out and gave them to his dad.

Smiling, David leaned into the microphone. "The Guernseys are going to Smoky Hill in Salina, Kansas," he intoned. With that, David Guernsey announced he had successfully matched to family medicine. Guernsey's fellow medical students whooped, cheered and applauded.

Guernsey and 2,312 other newly minted residents around the country learned March 15 they had successfully "matched" to family medicine in the National Resident Matching Program, or NRMP. Like his colleagues who chose the specialty, Guernsey was drawn to family medicine by the diversity of the patients he will care for as a family physician, the ability to provide continuity of care throughout the lifespan, the relationships he will forge with his patients and the contributions family physicians make to their communities.

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[deleted87716]

Click here to listen to the ANN (AAFP News Now) Match Podcast (MP3 file, approx. 10 min.)

 

[sophiejane]

Is it just me, or is anyone else noticing a trend toward rural practice as a draw to family medicine? Maybe it's always been like that, though I think if it were, we wouldn't have shortages in rural areas. I can't tell you how many people I ran into on the interview trail as well as my own classmates who are interested in rural family medicine.

I wonder if this is the "new" draw to FM...people who want to be that country doctor who does it all. I don't know what it was like in the past, but it really seems like this idea is gaining popularity.

Of course there will always be people who want urban or suburban practices, and we need them, too. I just think it's really cool to see this apparently renewed interest in rural medicine going on. As long as they don't take my job before I can get to it.

 

[iatrosB]

Is it just me, or is anyone else noticing a trend toward rural practice as a draw to family medicine? Maybe it's always been like that, though I think if it were, we wouldn't have shortages in rural areas. I can't tell you how many people I ran into on the interview trail as well as my own classmates who are interested in rural family medicine.

I wonder if this is the "new" draw to FM...people who want to be that country doctor who does it all. I don't know what it was like in the past, but it really seems like this idea is gaining popularity.

Of course there will always be people who want urban or suburban practices, and we need them, too. I just think it's really cool to see this apparently renewed interest in rural medicine going on. As long as they don't take my job before I can get to it.

You should keep in mind also that their sample size was pretty biased. They were interviewing students from only one school. That school just happened to be a school that has three rural family medicine programs associated with it. Although, I agree, more students pursuing FM are interested in rural service than other specialties, but this article should not be considered a representation of students motives for FM.

 

[sophiejane]

You should keep in mind also that their sample size was pretty biased. They were interviewing students from only one school. That school just happened to be a school that has three rural family medicine programs associated with it. Although, I agree, more students pursuing FM are interested in rural service than other specialties, but this article should not be considered a representation of students motives for FM.

I wasn't actually referring to the article...it just reminded me of something I've seen in vivo.

People interested in rural FM also may be slightly overrepresented in the midwest and the south when compared to the coasts, simply because of need and availability of jobs.

 

[lowbudget]

I wasn't actually referring to the article...it just reminded me of something I've seen in vivo.

People interested in rural FM also may be slightly overrepresented in the midwest and the south when compared to the coasts, simply because of need and availability of jobs.

From what I've seen, it has more to do with people wanting to "go home" once they hit their mid-20's and 30's to settle down.

I'd be curious how many who grew up in the big city move out to small towns in their late 20's, early 30's.

 

[sophiejane]

I'd be curious how many who grew up in the big city move out to small towns in their late 20's, early 30's.

Well, I grew up in a medium sized city and have lived for the past 10 or so years in a formerly medium sized city that is rapidly outgrowing its britches....

...and while I'm not going "home"...I can't wait to have some pasture and few cows between me and the neighbors.

 

[lowbudget]

Well, I grew up in a medium sized city and have lived for the past 10 or so years in a formerly medium sized city that is rapidly outgrowing its britches....

...and while I'm not going "home"...I can't wait to have some pasture and few cows between me and the neighbors.

Yea, I've met a couple of former big city docs who gave up their posh practices to work in a rural environment for very pastoral escapism that you talk about. But they were older docs who were on the other side of their career trajectory and wanted to slow down.

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

From what I've seen, it has more to do with people wanting to "go home" once they hit their mid-20's and 30's to settle down.

I'd be curious how many who grew up in the big city move out to small towns in their late 20's, early 30's.

word to that. the boomerang effect. spend your youth trying to get out and your adulthood trying to get back!

 

[Marigold]

Yep. I would love to be the boomerang. I went to high school in a pretty crappy one-red-light town (pop. 1,309), but now my folks live in the next town over (pop. 5,600 or so) and it's actually a really great, charming small town. It even has the oldest operating movie theatre in Texas!

I'm not sure if I'll go back "home" either, but I would really, really love to ultimately live and practice in a comparable small town. IMHO, you really can't beat life in an active, bustling, yet small and charming town.

Really cool article, thanks for sharing it, Kent!