Percentage in Primary Care

1999 NORTH CAROLINA PHYSICIANS:

MEDICAL SCHOOL TRAINING

North Carolina, Other U. S. & Canada, and International Medical Graduates

Location

In North Carolina, a larger percentage of

IMGs ( 29.2%) list a primary practice location

in a nonmetropolitan county than physicians

who graduated from U. S. or Canadian

schools ( 21.5%) or North Carolina schools

( 20.6%). Just over seven percent ( 7.2%) of

IMGs locate in whole county Health

Professional Shortage Areas ( HPSAs)

compared to 2.8% of the U. S. and Canadian

graduates and 4.0% of the N. C. graduates.

Hours

U. S. and Canadian graduates indicate that

they work an average of 40.9 total clinical

care hours per week, compared to 41.2 hours

for N. C. graduates, and 42.6 for IMGs.

Age & Gender

The average age of physicians

shows little variation by medical

school location. Graduates from

N. C. schools average 46.2 years

of age compared to 46.4 for IMGs

and 44.8 for graduates from other

U. S. states and Canada. The

gender distribution is also similar

across groups: 20.9% of other U. S.

and Canadian graduates and

21.5% of N. C. graduates are

women, compared to 21.4% of

IMGs.

Specialty

Physicians who graduate from

a North Carolina medical

school ( 45.5%) are more likely

to choose a primary care

specialty than other U. S. and

Canadian graduates ( 38.1%),

but less likely to than IMGs

( 47.7%). See Figure 2. 􀀗

( See notes for definition of

primary care.)

Primary Care Trend

The percentage of physicians who report

practicing in primary care, when broken down by

location of medical school training, has changed

little since 1995. Between 1995 and 1999, the

percentage of U. S. and Canadian graduates

reporting a primary care specialty increased from

36.7% to 38.1%. IMGs have the largest increase in

percentages, up from 40.1% in 1995 to 47.7% in

1999. Graduates of N. C. medical schools have

seen slight fluctuations in the percentage

practicing in primary care, declining slightly from

46.1% to 45.5% between 1995 and 1999, after rising

to 46.6% in 1997. See Figure 3. 􀀖

NOTES: Physicians are active, in- state, non- federal, nonresident- in- training physicians licensed by the N. C. Medical Board as of October, 1999. Primary care includes

a primary specialty of family practice, general practice, internal medicine, obstetrics/ gynecology, or pediatrics. Forty ( 40) physicians missing medical school

information were not included in this profile. The 174 Canadian graduates were grouped with the U. S. graduates because of their similar training background. This

fact sheet was compiled by the N. C. Health Professions Data System at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at

Chapel Hill, May 2001. This work was supported by the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers ( NC AHEC) Program and the University of North Carolina Office of the

Provost ( Health Affairs).

he medical school background of the 15,4701 North Carolina ( N. C.)

physicians licensed in 1999 is highlighted in this profile. Nearly 28%

( 4,244) of the state’s physicians graduated from a North Carolina medical

Figure 3: Percent in Primary Care by Medical

School Location, 1995, 1997, and 1999

Figure 2: Specialty Choice of Active N. C.

Physicians by Medical School Location

school. The majority of

physicians, 62.5%

( 9,648), completed

medical school

elsewhere in the U. S. or

Canada. Ten percent

( 10.0%; 1,538) of the

physicians are

international medical

graduates ( IMGs) who

completed their medical

school training outside

the U. S. and Canada.

See Figure 1 and notes

for details. 􀀖

Figure 1: Medical School Location of Active

Licensed North Carolina Physicians, 1999

1Medical school data was missing for 40 physicians; percentages are based on the 15,430 physicians for whom medical

school information was available.

Percentage in Specialty

MEDICAL

SCHOOL

LOCATION

T

Place of Medical School Training

Year

41.3% 42.5% 42.8%

39.8% 40.0% 39.9%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

1995 1997 1999

NC

US & Canada

Residency Training

Location

1999 NORTH CAROLINA PHYSICIANS:

RESIDENCY TRAINING

North Carolina and Other U. S. & Canadian Trained Physicians

Location

In North Carolina, 16.0% of the N. C.

residency trained physicians work in

nonmetropolitan counties, less than their U. S.

and Canadian ( 25.1%) trained counterparts.

In addition, a slightly smaller percentage of

the N. C. trained physicians ( 49.2%) work in

counties that are designated as partial or

whole county Health Professional Shortage

Areas ( HPSAs) than U. S. or Canadian trained

physicians ( 50.1%). Just over three percent

( 3.1%) of the N. C. trained physicians and just

under four percent ( 3.8%) of the U. S. or

Canadian trained physicians practice in

whole county HPSAs.

Hours

U. S. and Canadian trained physicians spend

an average of 41.6 total hours a week in

clinical care, slightly more time than their

N. C. trained counterparts ( 40.3).

Primary Care Trend

Graduates of North Carolina medical schools

list a primary care specialty more often in

1999 ( 42.8%) than in 1995 ( 41.3%). U. S. and

Canadian trained physicians have shown

very little variation in choice of primary care

specialties for the same years. See Figure 6. 􀀖

NOTES: Physicians are active, in- state, non- federal, nonresident- in- training physicians licensed by the N. C. Medical Board as of October, 1999. Primary care

includes a primary specialty of family practice, general practice, internal medicine, obstetrics/ gynecology, or pediatrics. The 89 physicians who completed training

in Canada were grouped with U. S. trained physicians because of their similar training background. Internship data were substituted for 1,489 physicians with no

residency data. For 309 North Carolina medical school graduates missing residency information, Association of American Medical Colleges residency data were

used. The remaining 300 with missing residency and internship data were not included in this profile. The internationally- trained physicians were not included in

this analysis because of the small sample size ( 45). This fact sheet was compiled by the N. C. Health Professions Data System at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for

Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, May 2001. This work was supported by the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers ( NC

AHEC) Program and the University of North Carolina Office of the Provost ( Health Affairs).

Age & Gender

The average age of physicians

trained in N. C. and practicing in

the state is 44.9, compared to

45.7 years of age for U. S. and

Canadian trained physicians. A

total of 25.7% of the N. C. trained

physicians are women,

compared to 18.5% of the

physicians trained in other states

or Canada.

Specialty

Approximately 42.8% of the

physicians who completed a

residency in N. C. indicate a

primary care specialty,

compared to 39.8% of physicians

who trained out of state. See

Figure 5 and notes for definition

of primary care. 􀀗

Figure 5: Reported Specialty of Active N. C.

Physicians by Residency Training Location

he postgraduate or residency training background of the 15,4702 North

Carolina ( N. C.) physicians licensed in 1999 is highlighted in this profile.

Thirty- five percent of physicians completed their residency training in

the state ( 5,293). Of the ten locations with accredited residency training

programs, Wake Forest

University Baptist,

Duke, and UNC-Chapel

Hill account for

73.1% of the N. C.

trained physicians. The

majority of licensed

physicians ( 9,832)

completed their

graduate medical

education ( GME)

training in other U. S.

states or Canada. A

total of 45 physicians

reported training in

another country and

are not included in this

analysis. See Figure 4

and notes for details. 􀀖

T

Figure 4: Location of Residency Training

Programs for N. C. Licensed Physicians, 1999

Figure 6: Percent in Primary Care by Residency

Training Location, 1995, 1997, and 1999

2 Residency school data was missing for 300 physicians, and 45 internationally

trained physicians were not included in this analysis; percentages are based on

total of 15,125 physicians.

Percentage in Specialty

Percentage in Primary Care

RESIDENCY

TRAINING

LOCATION

Place of Residency Training

Year