Developing the National Family Medicine Graduate Survey

A growing body of research has documented a decade-long decline in the scope of practice of family physicians,1–5 despite residency training designed to deliver high-quality care and resident intent to practice across the spectrum of family medicine, including pediatrics, geriatrics, obstetrics, and inpatient and ambulatory care.6 These findings raise questions about whether there is a lack of training, a lack of practice, or employer restrictions that limit opportunities for family physicians. Recent changes in the accreditation system for graduate medical education,7 including the unification of allopathic and osteopathic accreditation8 and the implementation of milestones,9 also raise questions on how these changes will affect graduates’ practice. Across specialties, a dearth of longitudinal data spanning undergraduate medical education to practice after graduation presents a barrier to answering these questions.

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