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Home Research Research Library Differences in Canadian and US Medical Student Preparation for Family Medicine Differences in Canadian and US Medical Student Preparation for Family Medicine 2016 Author(s) O’Neill, Thomas R, Peabody, Michael R, and Puffer, James C Topic(s) Education & Training Keyword(s) Graduate Medical Education, In-Training Examination, Psychometrics, and Undergraduate Medical Education Volume Family Medicine Source Family Medicine BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite their similarities, differences exist in the way Canadian and US medical schools prepare students for graduate medical education. The purpose of this study is to use American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) In-Training Examination (ITE) scores as a proxy to determine whether Canadian medical students are better prepared for entry into family medicine training than US medical students. METHODS: We used a cross-sectional study examining the performance of US medical school graduates (USMG [n=7,016]) and international medical school graduates (IMG [n=3,512]) enrolled in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited family medicine residency programs and 508 residents in Canadian family medicine programs who sat for the 2014 ABFM ITE. RESULTS: The PGY-1 Canadian cohort outperformed both the PGY-1 ACGME IMG and USMG cohorts; however, the PGY-3 AC-GME USMG cohort outperformed the PGY-2 Canadian cohort, but there was not a statistically significant difference between the PGY-2 Canadian cohort and the PGY-3 ACGME IMG cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Canadian medical students entering their first year of training in Canadian family medicine residencies performed better on the ABFM ITE than their US counterparts. This effect vanishes by the second year of training. The ability of US programs to successfully prepare their trainees to practice family medicine appears to be independent of the location of medical education as evidenced by the parallel improvement in mean scores for both USMGs and IMGs. Read More ABFM Research Read all 2024 Data Disaggregation of Asian-American Family Physicians Go to Data Disaggregation of Asian-American Family Physicians 2022 Evaluating the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Model at 10 Years: Practice-Based Outcomes and Opportunities Go to Evaluating the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Model at 10 Years: Practice-Based Outcomes and Opportunities 2024 Community-Based Primary Care Training Is Threatened By Funding Instability Go to Community-Based Primary Care Training Is Threatened By Funding Instability 2019 New Allopathic Medical Schools Train Fewer Family Physicians Than Older Ones. Go to New Allopathic Medical Schools Train Fewer Family Physicians Than Older Ones.
Author(s) O’Neill, Thomas R, Peabody, Michael R, and Puffer, James C Topic(s) Education & Training Keyword(s) Graduate Medical Education, In-Training Examination, Psychometrics, and Undergraduate Medical Education Volume Family Medicine Source Family Medicine
ABFM Research Read all 2024 Data Disaggregation of Asian-American Family Physicians Go to Data Disaggregation of Asian-American Family Physicians 2022 Evaluating the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Model at 10 Years: Practice-Based Outcomes and Opportunities Go to Evaluating the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Model at 10 Years: Practice-Based Outcomes and Opportunities 2024 Community-Based Primary Care Training Is Threatened By Funding Instability Go to Community-Based Primary Care Training Is Threatened By Funding Instability 2019 New Allopathic Medical Schools Train Fewer Family Physicians Than Older Ones. Go to New Allopathic Medical Schools Train Fewer Family Physicians Than Older Ones.
2024 Data Disaggregation of Asian-American Family Physicians Go to Data Disaggregation of Asian-American Family Physicians
2022 Evaluating the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Model at 10 Years: Practice-Based Outcomes and Opportunities Go to Evaluating the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Model at 10 Years: Practice-Based Outcomes and Opportunities
2024 Community-Based Primary Care Training Is Threatened By Funding Instability Go to Community-Based Primary Care Training Is Threatened By Funding Instability
2019 New Allopathic Medical Schools Train Fewer Family Physicians Than Older Ones. Go to New Allopathic Medical Schools Train Fewer Family Physicians Than Older Ones.
