2018 MU-COM
Top 5 Residency States
Indiana |
33.8% |
Michigan |
17.9% |
Ohio |
7.9% |
Illinois |
4.6% |
New York and Texas |
3% |
2018 IUSOM
Top 5 Residency States
Indiana |
28% |
Illinois |
9.6% |
Ohio |
7.5% |
Kentucky |
4.7% |
California |
3.4% |
2018 MU-COM
Top 5 Residency Specialties
Family Medicine |
29.1% |
Internal Medicine |
19.9% |
Emergency Medicine |
10.6% |
Pediatrics |
6% |
Psychiatry |
5.3% |
2018 IUSOM
Top 5 Residency Specialties
Anesthesiology |
14.3% |
Internal Medicine |
13.4% |
Pediatrics |
9.9% |
Family Medicine |
7.1% |
Emergency Medicine |
7.1% |
|
More 2018 graduates of Indiana medical schools will continue their training in Indiana than in any other state, while surrounding states fill out both schools’ top-five destinations for new medical residents, data shows.
At the same time, primary care specialties – an area of particular need in Indiana – account for three of the top five areas of concentration for 2018 graduates of both Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSOM) and Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MU-COM). (IUSOM provided data for students’ residency plans beyond the first year, since some residencies require an initial, transitional year in a different area.)
The figures align with Indiana’s goal, established in 2015 legislation, to increase the number of physicians here by funding more residency spots. ISMA also has supported the expansion effort, and delegates adopted Resolution 17-29 last year to track Indiana medical students and report on what percentage become residents and eventually practice in Indiana.
MU-COM, which graduated its second class this year, was established largely to provide more doctors for Indiana, especially in primary care specialties in underserved areas. Of its 2018 graduates, 55 percent matched to residencies in family medicine, internal medicine or pediatrics. “We are … excited that nearly 60 percent of our graduates will begin residencies in primary care specialties and that more than one-third of them will remain right here in Indiana,” said Dean Donald Sefcik, DO, MBA.
“Our students clearly find the Midwest attractive and desire to pursue a career here, said Clinton L. Whitson, MS, assistant dean of student affairs for MU-COM. “Besides the 33 percent remaining in Indiana, 18 percent went to Michigan, 8 percent to Ohio and 4.6 percent to Illinois.”
“Being a young school, we didn’t know quite what to expect,” Whitson said. “Knowing that people out there value what we are producing is very humbling and makes us feel like we are right on track with our mission of producing primary care physicians for underserved areas of Indiana.”
Bradley Allen, MD, PhD, IUSOM’s senior associate dean for medical education, noted that Indiana’s retention of physicians-in-training is high compared with other states’. Statistics from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) show that Indiana retained 55 percent of physicians in graduate medical education here in 2016, ranking it seventh among all states. That rose to 77 percent retention for trainees in undergraduate and graduate medical education combined, again for a state rank of seventh.
As part of a state university, IUSOM is charged with training physicians to meet Indiana’s needs, as well as to invest in high-quality research and medical care for Indiana residents, Dr. Allen said. That’s partly why it has expanded class sizes over the past decade, becoming the largest medical school in the U.S. It has also created more clinical training opportunities at its eight regional campuses for third- and fourth-year students.
“The relationships and exposure students get during these experiences go a long way toward showing our students what those communities and those facilities have to offer concerning long-term careers,” Dr. Allen said.
Dr. Allen said IUSOM is also pleased that half of its 2018 graduates went to residencies in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio or Kentucky, since data shows medical residents from neighboring states often return here to practice.
Even more medical students would choose to stay in Indiana if more residencies were available, Dr. Allen said. To help make that possible, IUSOM works with regional health care partners in planning new residency opportunities such as those in family medicine, internal medicine and psychiatry to be offered through medical centers in Evansville, Jasper and Vincennes. As a sign of further commitment to health care training in that community, the Stone Family Center for Health Sciences in Evansville officially opened last month as a collaboration between IUSOM, the University of Southern Indiana, the University of Evansville and several regional medical centers to train a variety of health care practitioners. In addition, five new family medicine residencies kicked off this year at IU Health Arnett Hospital in Lafayette, and expansions are being explored in Bloomington and elsewhere. An upcoming consolidation of allopathic and osteopathic residency matching in the U.S. means any medical graduate will be able to apply for any residency.
“I think it’s an exciting time for the growth of medical education at all levels in the state,” Dr. Allen said. “And, it comes at a crucial time when we know we will be facing increasing needs.”
Read AAMC’s Indiana Physician Workforce Profile for 2016 at
www.aamc.org/download/484538/data/indianaprofile.pdf.