According to the AAFP, nearly 16 percent of UNM SOM graduates over the past three years have entered an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited family medicine residency program.
UNM, ranked 10th on the list, followed University of North Dakota which had a 20.8 percentage rate of graduates entering family medicine. UNM’s ranking is down almost two percentage points from last year’s 18.3 percent of graduates entering the family medicine.
The percentage is based on a three-year rolling average of medical students matriculating to family medicine residencies and therefore is based on the current academic year’s incoming residents, according to the AAFP website.
According to UNM’s press release, the AAFP award comes at a time when the United States is facing a shortage of primary care physicians. Schools that contribute to the family medicine pipeline provide a standard of education that typically includes:
- A school mission that addresses producing community doctors to provide primary care.
- Admissions policies that target students from rural and medically underserved areas.
- Clinical rotations, including electives, that emphasize positive experiences in family medicine early in the curricular structure and that expose students to community physicians.
- Faculty involvement in medical school committees and leadership.
- Strong family medicine interest groups (FMIGs) and leadership opportunities for students.
- Financial support that minimizes the impact of student debt.
UNM SOM is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The school’s programs in rural and family medicine are nationally recognized and its groundbreaking BA/MD program has provided a new pathway for students from throughout New Mexico to pursue a medical career, according to the release.
Moriah Carty is the news editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @MoriahCarty.
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