Combined Baccalaureate/Medical Degree Students Match Into Family Medicine Residencies More Than Similar Peers: A Matched Case-Control Study

Abstract

Background and Objectives: We sought to evaluate whether the University of New Mexico (UNM) Combined Baccalaureate/Medical Degree (BA/MD) program increases the likelihood that students match into family medicine residencies. Methods: We used binary logistic regression to predict interest and actual residency match in family medicine. We compared BA/MD participants to similar peers (one-to-one match subject design) and all other students for the nine cohorts of medical students who have matriculated into UNM School of Medicine since the inception of the BA/MD program (medical school matriculation years 2009-2017). We also investigated whether BA/MD students were more likely to select family medicine as their specialty choice at the time of matriculation using survey responses. Results: At the time of matriculation, the differences in identifying family medicine as a first specialty choice between BA/MD, similar peers, and all other students were small and not statistically significant. However, upon graduation, 33% of BA/MD students matched into family medicine compared to 17% of similar peers, a statistically significant difference even after controlling for United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) test scores and several demographic factors. Conclusions: The University of New Mexico Combined Baccalaureate/Medical Degree students match into family medicine at nearly twice the rate of traditional medical degree students, suggesting that the UNM BA/MD program serves to increase the growth rate of the family medicine workforce.