Geographical Distribution of Interns in General Practice: A Tool for Regulating Place of Settlement?

Since 2004, interns in general practice have been distributed among universities following the internship competition based on their wishes, the ranking in the competition, and the number of available positions at each university. The significant reallocation of intern posts which took place between 2004 and 2007 is used as a natural experiment to assess the effect of distribution of interns on geographical distribution of settlement. We estimate that an increase of one percentage point in the proportion of interns placed at a university is associated, on average, with an increase of 0.4 percentage points in the proportion of general practitioners in private practice resulting from these cohorts having settled in the university zone twelve years later. The study shows that place of birth is also a significant decisive factor in relation to place of settle‑ ment. Recruiting medicine students in “medical deserts” could therefore be a tool for regulating place of settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]