Interest in family medicine among US medical students and its association with a community college academic pathway

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: One-third of all medical students attend a community college (CC) on their path to medical school. The objective of this study was to examine the association between CC participation and initial specialty of interest among US allopathic medical students. METHODS: We performed a national cross-sectional study of allopathic medical students who completed the 2012 Association of American Medical Colleges' Matriculating Student Questionnaire. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: A total of 9,885 medical student respondents were included in the study sample, consisting of 7,035 (71%) non-CC pathway, and 2,850 (29%) CC pathway participants. CC pathway participants were more likely to express intent to specialize in family medicine (272/2,850 [10%] vs 463/7,035 [7%], P<.001), compared to those on the non-CC path. CC pathway participants had higher odds of intent to specialize in family medicine (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.32; 95% CI 1.13-1.56, P<0.001), compared to those on the non-CC path. Women, independent of college pathway, were nearly two times more likely to express an intention to specialize in family medicine, and three times more likely to express an intention to specialize in pediatrics than men. CONCLUSIONS: Medical students who used a CC pathway are more likely to have intentions to specialize in family medicine, compared to those on the non-CC path.