Rs. Miller et al., INITIAL EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF RESIDENT PHYSICIANS COMPLETING TRAINING IN 1995, JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, 277(21), 1997, pp. 1699-1704
Objective.-To assess the degree and type of difficulty encountered by
resident physicians attempting to enter the workforce in 1995. Design.
-Employment information derived from a 1-page descriptive survey compl
eted by residency program directors from January 1, 1996, to June 15,
1996, is described and compared with the results of a similar survey c
ompleted 1 year earlier. Setting.-Directors of 4568 residency programs
in 31 specialties and subspecialties accredited by the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education. Main Outcome Measure.-The numb
er of 1995 program graduates, their current professional status, and p
rogram directors' characterization of the experience of graduates who
entered clinical practice, including the number who experienced major
difficulties securing an acceptable practice position, Program directo
rs reported actual and anticipated decreases in the number of residenc
y positions and the likely availability of future professional opportu
nities. Results.-The 3819 program directors (83.6%) who completed the
survey reported that 20 065 resident physicians completed a residency
program during 1995. Of those seeking employment (n = 13 215), most en
tered clinical practice (80.1%) or took an academic position (15.6%);
2.2% were unemployed or had taken a position in a specialty or subspec
ialty different from the one in which they were last trained. A portio
n (6.3%) of graduates who entered clinical practice in their specialty
or subspecialty experienced difficulty finding a suitable position;th
e percentage was lowest among graduates of general surgery, psychiatry
, and primary care specialties. Conclusions.-Survey results regarding
the 1995 graduates are consistent with those obtained regarding the 19
94 graduates and suggest that the market for physician services in som
e disciplines continues to be restrictive. We found that graduates of
the specialties of anesthesiology and plastic surgery, whom we reporte
d had the greatest difficulty finding acceptable positions in 1994, ha
d less difficulty in 1995, suggesting a possible improvement in the ma
rket, less competition, a change in the respondents' perception of ''a
cceptable,'' or a change in the resident physicians' willingness to pu
rsue different opportunities. The general consistency of our results a
nd their congruence with other published data suggest that this method
is useful to identify and monitor trends in the physician market.