Graduate medical education exit survey [June 2009]

Georgia Board for Physician Workforce Graduate Medical Education Exit Survey Summary Brief:
Are New Physicians Staying in Georgia After Completing Training? What are the Most Common Reasons Why New Physicians Leave? Do Those Who Stay in Georgia Practice in Close Proximity to Their
Training Site?
Summary Brief Number 1 - June 2009

Survey of GME Graduates Completing Training in Georgia in 2008

For seven years the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce (GBPW) has conducted an annual survey of physicians completing their final year of residency training in Georgia. The purpose of this survey is to inform the medical education and state physician workforce planners about the experiences of graduates and the demand for new physicians in Georgia. The state's public and private medical schools are working to increase the medical student enrollment in response to meet the need for more physicians. However, the GME Exit Survey results suggest that Georgia should also expand residency positions to train needed physicians for Georgia.

Are new physicians staying in Georgia after completing training?

Fifty nine percent (59%) of respondents with confirmed practice plans and completing training during the period July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008 reported plans to practice in Georgia. This represented the first time in six years there has been an increase in the percentage of respondents with confirmed practice plans to remain in the state.

The graph shows the variation by location of medical school. Of those with confirmed practice plans to stay in Georgia, 33% went to a Georgia medical school for undergraduate medical education (UME). Forty one percent (41%) attended medical school in another state and 26% attended medical school in a different country.

GME Graduates Reporting Confirmed Practice Plans in GA, by Medical School Location, 2008 (N=200)

60%

40%

33%

20%

41%

26%

0%

Georgia Medical Other State

IMG

School

Medical School

What are the most common reasons why new physicians leave?

Of the residents that changed their practice plans (N=78), 33% cite family and/or spouse considerations as the primary reason. The detailed breakdown is shown in the table on the reverse side of this page.

Georgia Board for Physician Workforce 1718 Peachtree St., N.W., Suite 683, Atlanta, Georgia 30309, (404) 206-5420 www.gbpw.georgia.gov Cherri Tucker, Executive Director. Kelly McNamara, Carla Graves, Colette Caldwell, and G.E. Alan Dever, M.D., Ph.D., contributors.

GME Exit Survey Summary Brief

Page 2

GME Graduates Changing Practice Plans, by Reason, 2008 (N=78)

Reasons for Leaving GA
Family/Spouse Considerations Lack of Jobs in Desired Locations Other (reason not specified) Lack of Jobs in Desired Setting Inadequate Salary/Compensation Offered Overall Lack of Jobs

Number
26 20 17 6 5 4

Percentage
33% 26% 22% 8% 6% 5%

Do those who stay in Georgia practice in close proximity to their training site?
Over 80% of respondents remaining in the state reported plans to practice within a 60 mile radius of their residency program location. Residency training lasts a minimum of three years. During this time, residents not only treat patients, but they also establish ties in the local community.

GME Graduates Reporting Confirmed Practice Plans in GA, by Proximity to Training Location, 2008 (N=201)

60%

58%

40% 18%
20%

24%

0%

Other Area in Same City/County of Same Region as

Georgia (More than Residency Training Residency Training

60 Miles from

(Within a 60 Mile

Current Training

Radius of Current

Location)

Training Location)

The graph shows that 58% of respondents staying in Georgia are practicing in the same city/county of their residency training. Additionally, 24% of respondents reported plans to practice in the same region as residency training. These rates illustrate the contribution residency programs make to Georgia's supply and distribution of physicians.

The purpose of the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce is to address the physician workforce needs of Georgia communities through the support and development of medical education programs. In this role, the GBPW works closely with medical schools and teaching hospitals throughout the state. All direct state funding to support medical education, with the exception of money appropriated through the Board of Regents, is administered by the GBPW. The GBPW is also responsible for identifying areas of the state in which unmet priority needs exist for physicians by monitoring and evaluating the supply and distribution of physicians by specialty and geographical location.
Please visit the GBPW's website (www.gbpw.georgia.gov) for a copy of the full 2008 GME Exit Survey Report, as well as other useful publications related to Georgia's medical education system and the state's physician workforce.