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. 2022 Mar 8:26:101754.
doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.101754. eCollection 2022 Apr.

Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Training: A National Survey

Adeola O Fakolade  1 , Assim M AlAbdulKader  2 , Dolly P White  3 , Adeleye Adaralegbe  4 , Neha S Burse  5
Affiliations

Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Training: A National Survey

Adeola O Fakolade et al. Prev Med Rep. .

Abstract

Little is known about the current experiences of Public Health/General Preventive Medicine (PH/GPM) residents and graduates in the United States. This cross-sectional study of PH/GPM residents and graduates examined their knowledge of the field and career choices after graduation. We developed a questionnaire to address medical education, graduate medical training prior to Preventive Medicine (PM), current PM training, and post-graduation goals. Data was stratified by residency status (resident vs graduate), and board-eligibility (dual-eligible vs solely PH/GPM). Bivariate analysis of quantitative data was performed using Fisher's test. Qualitative data were organized into themes and analyzed quantitatively. Of those invited to participate, a total of 153 (18.25%) PH/GPM residents and graduates responded to the survey. We found diversity in prior medical education/training among respondents. Overall, debt burden at the start of training was low compared to national trends. Compared to residents, a higher proportion of graduates were board-eligible in another specialty (p<0.001). Most respondents felt that their programs provided them with opportunities to acquire skills essential for a career in PM. Ninety-one percent of graduates were board-certified in PH/GPM. Respondents expressed a wide range of career interests, including government work and academia. Difficulty with marketing themselves as PM physicians was frequently cited as a reason for the difficulty in securing a PM job. The results inform the PM community with current trends in PH/GPM training and career obstacles faced by PM graduates.

Keywords: Graduate medical education; Preventive medicine; Public health; Residency training.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Respondents report on whether their training provided opportunity to acquire the skills they identified as important for a career in Preventive Medicine.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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