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. 2024 May 22;9(10):e178214.
doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.178214.

Is it time to reduce the length of postgraduate training for physician-scientists in internal medicine?

Emily Jane Gallagher  1 , Paul R Conlin  2 , Barbara I Kazmierczak  3 , Jatin M Vyas  4 , Olujimi A Ajijola  5 , Christopher D Kontos  6 , Robert A Baiocchi  7 , Kyu Y Rhee  8 , Patrick J Hu  9 , Carlos M Isales  10 , Christopher S Williams  11   12   13 , Don C Rockey  14
Affiliations

Is it time to reduce the length of postgraduate training for physician-scientists in internal medicine?

Emily Jane Gallagher et al. JCI Insight. .

Abstract

Physician-scientists play a crucial role in advancing medical knowledge and patient care, yet the long periods of time required to complete training may impede expansion of this workforce. We examined the relationship between postgraduate training and time to receipt of NIH or Veterans Affairs career development awards (CDAs) for physician-scientists in internal medicine. Data from NIH RePORTER were analyzed for internal medicine residency graduates who received specific CDAs (K08, K23, K99, or IK2) in 2022. Additionally, information on degrees and training duration was collected. Internal medicine residency graduates constituted 19% of K awardees and 28% of IK2 awardees. Of MD-PhD internal medicine-trained graduates who received a K award, 92% received a K08 award; of MD-only graduates who received a K award, a majority received a K23 award. The median time from medical school graduation to CDA was 9.6 years for K awardees and 10.2 years for IK2 awardees. The time from medical school graduation to K or IK2 award was shorter for US MD-PhD graduates than US MD-only graduates. We propose that the time from medical school graduation to receipt of CDAs must be shortened to accelerate training and retention of physician-scientists.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow chart summarizing the workflow and exclusion criteria for the study.
(A) Flow chart summarizing the NIH RePORTER advanced search results for K01, K08, K23, K25, and K99 awards. (B) Flow chart summarizing the NIH RePORTER advanced search results for IK2 awards.
Figure 2
Figure 2. K award type based on degree.
(A) MD-only graduates who completed internal medicine training (n = 116). (B) MD-PhD graduates who completed internal medicine residency training (n = 60).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Time from medical school graduation to K award.
Histogram comparing years from medical school graduation to K08, K23, or K99 award by degree type, as indicated for US medical school graduates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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