Alignment of Preventive Medicine Physicians’ Residency Training With Professional Needs

Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Training: A National Survey

“…A survey of 241 general PM graduates (1981–1986) on career choices revealed the top career choices were program activities, teaching, clinical services, and research ( Baca et al, 1990 ). Like our study findings, a more recent study reported among eighty PM physicians surveyed, 44% worked in academia and 25% in government ( Flower et al, 2019 ). Among our study respondents, the main motivation for seeking a career in PM was the opportunity to improve the health of a large group of people.…”

“…Our finding that less than half of survey respondents were dual board-eligible is low compared to a survey of a single PM training program which found 88% of program graduates had completed a clinical residency before PM training ( Flower et al, 2019 ). The difference is likely due to the comparison of a national survey like ours with respondents representing various programs and a single program survey.…”

“…The structure of PH/GPM training, has been described as broad and undifferentiated ( Jung and Lushniak, 2020 ); and alignment of PM training with professional needs is a considerable concern ( Flower et al, 2019 ). For instance, PM residents identified communication skills as an important skill to learn, while graduates favored leadership skills as important for a career in PM.…”

“…Respondents’ high agreement that their program provided them with opportunities to acquire the skills they identified as important, may show some improvement from previously reported observations. A small study documented deficiencies in leadership and management skills in PM residency training ( Flower et al, 2019 ). The observations in our study may reflect the growing demand for healthcare leaders with a unique combination of clinical and public health skills, which can be found in PM graduates.…”

“…Core competencies of PM training include communication, biostatistics/epidemiology, management/administration, clinical preventive medicine, and occupational and environmental health ( Lane, 1999 ). With core competencies that span both clinical medicine and population health, PM physicians are uniquely positioned to address health system challenges through careers in a variety of sectors ( ACGME, 2020 , Flower et al, 2019 ).…”