Robert C. Bowman, M.D.
Database used 1987 - 1999 graduates of allopathic schools based on the 2005 Masterfile, categorized by medical school and MCAT group
The probability of physician careers changes with type of school.
The probability of physician distribution varies by MCAT and other factors related to education, state investment, etc.
The schools that select the types of students most likely to choose family medicine and that concentrate on a family medicine focus of training, distribute graduates to rural locations, office based primary care in underserved areas, primary care, and family medicine. The schools with more students with higher MCAT scores are the least likely to distribute to careers than can or will distribute.
Students that score poorly on the MCAT will have an uphill battle gaining entry to a school that will allow them a high probability subspecialty choice and have the lowest probability of being able to choose such a career.
The greatest contrasts between careers are Endocrinology vs Family Medicine, adjacent to one another and noted below. Family medicine is one of the largest percentages of physicians but has only 2.2% researchers resulting in one of the lowest ratios for the specialty providing the bulk of primary care across the nation, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Research efforts are specific to disease and medication and not to the delivery of care.
Methods
I broke down the 1987 - 1999 medical school graduates into MCAT groups. I indexed the graduates according to how many per category. Duluth and Mercer earned a separate category for their superior distribution in all categories, as did U Washington, UCLA, Irvine, and Davis for theirs involving underserved primary care.
| Puerto Rico Schools | MCAT 10.6 - 12 | MCAT 10.08 - 10.54 | MCAT 9.76 - 10.05 | MCAT 9.5 - 9.76 | MCAT 9.15 - 9.49 | MCAT 8.6 - 9.15 | Duluth, Mercer | UCLA, Davis, Irvine, U Wash | Traditional Black Schools | UMKC, Uniform,U HI, NEOUCOM | % of researchers 1987 - 1999 | % of allopathic doctors 1987 - 1999 | Ratio | ||||
| Allergy Immunology | AI | 30% | 74% | 99% | 89% | 114% | 110% | 134% | 98% | 76% | 93% | 146% | 815 | 11 | 0.9% | 0.4% | 2.19 |
| Anesthesia | AN | 79% | 78% | 85% | 104% | 109% | 123% | 100% | 38% | 95% | 89% | 105% | 10630 | 18 | 1.4% | 5.2% | 0.27 |
| Pain Management (anesth) | APM | 219% | 71% | 81% | 108% | 105% | 137% | 77% | 0% | 99% | 115% | 54% | 658 | 2 | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.49 |
| Cardiology | CD | 123% | 132% | 117% | 101% | 94% | 84% | 77% | 50% | 60% | 72% | 76% | 4753 | 41 | 3.3% | 2.3% | 1.40 |
| Child & Adolescent Psychiatry | CHP | 136% | 79% | 94% | 91% | 103% | 113% | 145% | 76% | 44% | 129% | 120% | 2085 | 15 | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.17 |
| Dermatology | D | 58% | 154% | 109% | 93% | 77% | 81% | 88% | 40% | 118% | 66% | 128% | 3325 | 16 | 1.3% | 1.6% | 0.78 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | DR | 115% | 108% | 97% | 101% | 98% | 107% | 88% | 61% | 75% | 57% | 116% | 7809 | 7 | 0.6% | 3.8% | 0.15 |
| Emergency Medicine | EM | 51% | 80% | 97% | 105% | 115% | 97% | 99% | 52% | 129% | 114% | 124% | 10269 | 11 | 0.9% | 5.0% | 0.17 |
| Endocrinology | END | 195% | 148% | 126% | 95% | 79% | 74% | 69% | 54% | 97% | 68% | 72% | 988 | 36 | 2.9% | 0.5% | 5.92 |
| Family Medicine | FP | 80% | 46% | 79% | 100% | 103% | 121% | 159% | 287% | 151% | 139% | 117% | 26917 | 28 | 2.2% | 13.2% | 0.17 |
| Gastroenterology | GE | 176% | 121% | 109% | 107% | 94% | 87% | 72% | 54% | 67% | 77% | 100% | 2941 | 27 | 2.2% | 1.4% | 1.49 |
| General Preventive Medicine | GPM | 43% | 104% | 114% | 86% | 89% | 85% | 66% | 63% | 91% | 346% | 295% | 848 | 20 | 1.6% | 0.4% | 3.83 |
| General Surgery | GS | 85% | 104% | 94% | 108% | 101% | 95% | 99% | 129% | 86% | 110% | 112% | 8030 | 12 | 1.0% | 3.9% | 0.24 |
| Hematology Oncology | HO | 93% | 147% | 118% | 101% | 85% | 89% | 63% | 52% | 76% | 22% | 72% | 1547 | 25 | 2.0% | 0.8% | 2.62 |
| Hand Surgery | HS | 19% | 178% | 113% | 109% | 76% | 83% | 33% | 86% | 100% | 41% | 70% | 620 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.3% | 0.00 |
| Infectious Disease | ID | 177% | 159% | 120% | 97% | 81% | 76% | 53% | 94% | 69% | 84% | 80% | 1695 | 57 | 4.5% | 0.8% | 5.46 |
| Internal Medicine (general) | IM | 93% | 95% | 108% | 98% | 104% | 97% | 92% | 121% | 110% | 125% | 81% | 24906 | 202 | 16.1% | 12.2% | 1.32 |
| Internal Medicine Geriatrics | IMG | 170% | 105% | 136% | 100% | 76% | 87% | 90% | 42% | 87% | 132% | 100% | 636 | 10 | 0.8% | 0.3% | 2.55 |
| Medicine Pediatrics | MPD | 16% | 52% | 85% | 68% | 122% | 129% | 222% | 73% | 41% | 161% | 78% | 1827 | 3 | 0.2% | 0.9% | 0.27 |
| Neurology | N | 146% | 123% | 114% | 102% | 98% | 95% | 67% | 70% | 51% | 53% | 64% | 2676 | 92 | 7.3% | 1.3% | 5.58 |
| Nephrology | NEP | 173% | 107% | 121% | 93% | 91% | 90% | 92% | 87% | 89% | 93% | 101% | 1532 | 12 | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.27 |
| Neonatal Perinatal Medicine | NPM | 156% | 96% | 96% | 116% | 97% | 96% | 106% | 157% | 51% | 40% | 122% | 847 | 17 | 1.4% | 0.4% | 3.26 |
| Neurosurgery | NS | 65% | 191% | 105% | 96% | 89% | 72% | 53% | 16% | 85% | 40% | 57% | 1667 | 4 | 0.3% | 0.8% | 0.39 |
| Obstetrics-Gynecology | OBG | 113% | 80% |