Leslie Patterson, PhD and Stephanie Shaw, BA

No financial conflicts of interest to disclose. Supported in part by HRSA Grant –Health Resources and Services Administration Award: D56HP

Background: History and purpose Methods: Design, data collection, analysis Results: Relationships between database “hits” and selection of Family Medicine Conclusions: Limitations and future directions Questions & Discussion

Started in 2002 using Microsoft Excel Attempted to capture every FM-related activity independently—too much data for Excel! Migrated the system to Microsoft Access in 2012 Data captured in FM categories

Student Tracking Database History Purpose Collect information about student participation in FM activities and events Assist faculty/staff in identifying students with an early interest in family medicine Complete grant reports Guide student selection for FM summer opportunities; and Senior awards/scholarships Identify important activities to provide departmental support

Methods-Data Collection Microsoft Access Organized according to graduation year Records can be filtered by: –Graduation/matriculation year –Activity/event –Student/groups of students Data collected/maintained by faculty & staff in Predoc Division

Data Elements Name FMSA Member FMSA Officer FM Summer Research FMSA Activities FMSA Lunch Talks FMLC Lunch Talks Residency Opportunity Lunch Strolling Through the Match Lunch Softball Game FM National Conference Conferences and Research FM Clerkship Location FM Clerkship Grade FM Electives--Junior and Senior Years FM Advisor Alpha Omega Alpha Selectee Personal Communication with faculty/staff Miscellaneous Activities

Results Medical Students: 395 ( ) –Class of 2013: 199 students; 18 matched to family medicine (9%) –Class of 2014: 196 students; 23 matched to family medicine (11.7%) Students with “hits” in database: –220 combined (55.7%) Grad Year 2013: 108/199 (54.3%) Grad Year 2014: 112/196 (57%)

Results Activity/Event Class of 2013 Participation Class of 2014 Participation Combined Participation Participation at >3 FM- related activities 19/21 (90.5%) 16/30 (53.3%) 35/51 (68.7%) FMSA Member14/71 (19.7%) 12/70 (17.1%) 26/141 (18.4%) FMSA Officer7/17 (41%) 3/17 (17.6%) 10/34 (29.4%) FM National Conference8/8 (100%) 11/11 (100%) 19/19 (100%) Residency Opportunity Lunch 27/52 (53%) 30/64 (47%) 57/116 (49%) Strolling Through the Match Lunch 8/15 (53.3%) 10/15 (66.7%) 18/30 (60%)

Conclusions FM National Conference biggest indicator of student interest in pursuing a career in FM Sustained engagement in FM activities and Strolling Through the Match lunch also predictive of career in FM Class patterns emerging regarding early versus late interest in FM –Example: Class of 2014; little FM interest early on in med school, but higher FM Match rate than Class of 2013

Limitations: 1)Database can’t capture everything! Residency programs interaction with students 2)Challenging to capture data on personal communications—but important 3)More rigorous investigation is needed Regression analysis—what factors predict FM selection Future Directions: 1)Link with Scholarly Pathways—does Pathways selection impact specialty choice? 2)Include students’ Clinical Apprenticeship rankings

Potential Discussion Questions Do you have similar systems at your medical school? If not, do you capture this type of data in another way? What other types of data should be included? What other uses for the database can you think of?

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