Using Propensity-Score Matched Cohorts to Evaluate Career Outcomes for Medical Students Completing the Underserved Pathway.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to compare the career outcomes of medical students who completed the Underserved Pathway (UP) at the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) to a matched cohort of their peers who did not complete the UP. Were participants more likely to practice in rural communities and/or primary care specialties than their peers who did not complete the UP? Starting with a list of 243 UP students enrolled between 2004 and 2012, we used propensity-score matching to build a matched cohort of non-UP graduates and then used multiple regression to compare the groups, with a focus on career outcomes. A total of 384 UWSOM graduates were included in the analysis: 191 UP graduates and 193 non-UP graduates. Overall, UP graduates had three times the odds of practicing family medicine in a rural community than their non-UP peers and three and a half times the odds of practicing rural primary care. Longitudinal cocurricular programs that encourage students to explore and gain experience in underserved communities may help address physician workforce shortages in rural areas.