Location of medical education and choice of location of practice

Abstract

The geographical distribution of physicians is affected by a number of factors, including the location of their medical education. The authors of the present paper examined the physicians' decisions on where to locate after they completed their training by determining where a state's practicing physicians come from and whether physicians who are trained in a state practice in that state or out of state. The results indicated a positive correlation between location of training and location of practice. Women physicians and general/family practitioners were most likely to remain in the state where they received their graduate medical education. The results also suggested that medical schools and graduate medical education programs are vehicles through which a state can attract physicians who will practice there.