TY - JOUR
T1 - Major concerns about internal medicine
T2 - Insights from program directors
AU - Record, Janet
AU - Beasley, Brent
AU - McDonald, Furman S.
AU - Wright, Scott
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2011/2
Y1 - 2011/2
N2 - Objective: To better understand and characterize the challenges facing internal medicine from the perspective of internal medicine residency program directors. Methods: In 2007, internal medicine program directors were surveyed by the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM). An open-ended question asked: "What are your major concerns regarding internal medicine?" Responses to this question were independently coded by two investigators and compared for agreement. Content analysis identified several major themes related to their concerns. Results: Of the 236 program directors completing the survey, 186 (79%) answered the question and explained their concerns. Approximately one half of the informants were general internists. There was a fairly even distribution among assistant, associate, and professor ranking. All regions of the country were represented. Five themes emerged as the program directors' major concerns about internal medicine: waning interest in internal medicine, especially primary care; onerous regulatory oversight; economic pressures; the eighty-hour work week; and fragmentation within internal medicine. Conclusion: By virtue of their role, internal medicine residency directors gain a unique understanding about the core elements that contribute to declining interest in careers in internal medicine, which is particularly relevant given the current primary care workforce crisis. Collaboration among stakeholders that can influence healthcare policy to address these concerns about internal medicine will be necessary to revive interest in the field.
AB - Objective: To better understand and characterize the challenges facing internal medicine from the perspective of internal medicine residency program directors. Methods: In 2007, internal medicine program directors were surveyed by the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM). An open-ended question asked: "What are your major concerns regarding internal medicine?" Responses to this question were independently coded by two investigators and compared for agreement. Content analysis identified several major themes related to their concerns. Results: Of the 236 program directors completing the survey, 186 (79%) answered the question and explained their concerns. Approximately one half of the informants were general internists. There was a fairly even distribution among assistant, associate, and professor ranking. All regions of the country were represented. Five themes emerged as the program directors' major concerns about internal medicine: waning interest in internal medicine, especially primary care; onerous regulatory oversight; economic pressures; the eighty-hour work week; and fragmentation within internal medicine. Conclusion: By virtue of their role, internal medicine residency directors gain a unique understanding about the core elements that contribute to declining interest in careers in internal medicine, which is particularly relevant given the current primary care workforce crisis. Collaboration among stakeholders that can influence healthcare policy to address these concerns about internal medicine will be necessary to revive interest in the field.
KW - future of internal medicine
KW - graduate medical education
KW - internal medicine workforce shortage
KW - primary care workforce
KW - undergraduate medical education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79251543697&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79251543697&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/SMJ.0b013e3181fcabff
DO - 10.1097/SMJ.0b013e3181fcabff
M3 - Article
C2 - 21206422
AN - SCOPUS:79251543697
SN - 0038-4348
VL - 104
SP - 89
EP - 94
JO - Southern medical journal
JF - Southern medical journal
IS - 2
ER -