Alignment of Preventive Medicine Physicians’ Residency Training With Professional Needs

Preventive medicine (PM) physicians promote population-based approaches to health care with training that emphasizes public health, epidemiology, and policy. PM physicians use these skills in varied, often nonclinical, practice settings. PM career diversity challenges educators when designing residency curricula. Input from PM physicians about workforce environments is needed to ensure that residency requirements match skills needed post-residency. Graduates of one PM residency were sent a cross-sectional survey in 2016. Questions included professional experience, importance of 18 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education sub-competencies and 13 leadership/management skills to current position, and residency training adequacy in those sub-competencies/skills. Responses were rated on 3-point Likert scales. Analyses were completed in 2017. Pearson's chi-square tests examined relationships between position type (academic/government) and perception of competencies' importance and training adequacy. Eighty PM physicians responded (46%): 44% worked in academia and 25% in federal/state/local government. Half (53%) were PM board certified. A total of 88% completed clinical residency prior to PM. Thirteen of 18 competencies were important to work, and respondents felt well trained in 16 of 18 competencies. Respondents did not feel well trained in emergency preparedness and surveillance systems during residency and their opinions about the importance of these sub-competencies varied based on where they worked. Respondents rated all 13 leadership/management skills as important, but reported inadequate residency training. In conclusion, respondents rated most Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education sub-competencies as important to current work and felt well trained, indicating good alignment between residency training and professional needs. Respondents also reported leadership/management training deficiencies. PM residencies might consider incorporating formal leadership training into curricula.