RSS Feeds
The Effect of a Primary-Care Pathway on Internal Medicine Residents' Career Plans
Abstract
There has been no evidence that primary-care pathways, a recent innovation in internal medicine residency programs, have affected the career choices of their trainees. We report the experience of the first four cohorts of primary-care trainees in internal medicine compared with traditional-pathway trainees at Boston City Hospital. Primary-care residents remained committed to their plans for a career in general internal medicine throughout training. In contrast, two thirds of the traditionally trained residents who were planning a career in general internal medicine at the beginning of their training changed their plans to subspecialty medicine. Thus, the primary-care pathway reinforced the career plans of trainees in general internal medicine, whereas traditional training influenced potential generalists toward subspecialty medicine.
Article and Author Information
-
▸From the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory and the Department of Medicine, Boston City Hospital; and the Department of Socio-Medical Sciences, Boston University School of Medicine; Boston, Massachusetts.
-
Grant support: Grant 2148 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Grant 1-D28-PE11066 from the National Institutes of Health.
-
▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Don L. Goldenberg, M.D.; Thorndike 416, Boston City Hospital; 818 Harrison Avenue; Boston, MA 02118.
-
- Received April 3, 1979.
- Accepted May 30, 1979.
- © 1979 American College of Physicians
