OU-COM fills primary care gap in Ohio

While recent studies show a steep national decline in young physicians choosing primary care, OU-COM graduates continue to do so in large numbers.

Of the 106 members of the Class of 2008, 52 graduates—49 percent—started primary care graduate medical programs this summer. Of those programs, 26 were family medicine residencies; six, pediatric; and 20, internal medicine (though many internal medicine residents may go on to sub-specialize).

The number of U.S. medical graduates entering family practice dropped 50 percent in the past decade, as reported in the Sept. 10 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), while the American Academy of Family Physicians projects that the need for primary care specialists will skyrocket by 2020, when the nation will need more than 139,000 family physicians.

The JAMA studies reveal a strong correlation between salary and popularity of a specialty—and that primary care specialties rank among lowest average salaries. Despite these trends, OU-COM has long trained physicians committed to primary care, many of whom choose to practice in underserved regions of Ohio.

Of total OU-COM graduates, 54 percent are primary care providers, 62 percent practice medicine in Ohio, and 46 percent serve communities with populations less than 50,000, with 11 percent in Appalachia Ohio.

Those figures reflect the college mission, mandated by the Ohio General Assembly, of serving Ohio populations in need and emphasizing family medicine. The OU-COM Office of Admissions highly considers these factors during interviews, recruiting mainly within the state and seeking applicants who value primary care training.

“We require out-of-state students to practice at least five years in Ohio following medical school and residency, which can be waived if students choose an American Osteopathic Association accredited three-year primary care residency within the Centers for Osteopathic Research and Education,” said John Schriner, Ph.D., director of admissions. “Many of these physicians choose to stay in the state indefinitely, making OU-COM a state importer of medical talent.”

From early clinical contact hours through third- and fourth-year rotations, OU-COM prioritizes primary care medicine. With few exceptions, students’ early Clinical and Community Experience requirements take place in primary care settings, and in both curricular tracks at OU-COM, the vast majority of first-year case studies involve patients who initially present to their primary care physicians, emphasizing family medicine as the first clinical contact point.

OU-COM students begin their third year with a four-week primary care rotation. Before they finish their fourth year, they will have spent an additional six weeks in family medicine and other primary care rotations.

“We are one of a dwindling number of medical schools who maintain primary care as a high priority,” said Dean Jack Brose, D.O. “We draw a lot of outstanding students here because of our reputation for providing an excellent foundation in primary care.”