A COMPARISON OF SPECIALTY CHOICES, RESIDENCY TRAINING, AND PRACTICE LOCATIONS OF EARLY-DECISION AND REGULAR-ADMISSION GRADUATES

Purpose. Early-decision (ED) medical school applicants express a clear preference for attending a particular medical school. The present stu dy assessed whether ED graduates would demonstrate similar geographic preferences in their choices of undergraduate institutions and selecti ons of in-state residency sites and practice locations. Method. The st udy was conducted at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. U niform academic and nonacademic criteria were used to evaluate the app lications of ED and regular-admission students who matriculated from 1 914-75 to 1984-85. The student variables assessed were class year, gen der, age, county of residence, and undergraduate college, as well as u ndergraduate science and cumulative grade-point averages (GPAs) and Me dical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores. Specialty choice and locat ions of residency programs were obtained from the medical school's com mencement programs. Specialty types and practice locations were obtain ed from practicing physician records maintained by the alumni office. Results. Of the 1,243 matriculants, 193 (15.5%) gained admission to th e school through the ED plan. The ED graduates were significantly more likely to have completed their undergraduate studies at the Universit y of Kentucky than at other public or private schools, in state or out of state, and had significantly higher GPAs and MCAT scores. As a gro up, the ED graduates were somewhat (though not significantly) more lik ely than the regular-admission graduates to remain in state for their residencies and practice in state. Conclusion. The authors suggest tha t medical schools should work closely with their undergraduate admissi on offices to attract academically outstanding high school students. S uch students are likely to stay in state for the eight-year span of th eir undergraduate and medical educations and may have a greater tenden cy to practice in state.