Prior to medical school matriculation , 42 % of all respondents completed their undergraduate degree at a WV institution ( n = 179 ), 44 % ( n = 189 ) completed their degree out of state , and 14 % ( n = 60 ) completed their degree outside of the US , did not indicate a response , or responded “ Not Applicable .” Year of undergraduate degree completion ranged from 1957 - 2013 ( n = 383 ). The highest number of respondents graduated in 1976 ( n = 18 ) with median graduation years of 2005 and 2006 . Sixtythree percent of respondents completed an undergraduate degree in physical or biological sciences ( n = 270 ). Additional undergraduate majors in which degrees were completed included business ( n = 3 ), health sciences ( n = 26 ), humanities ( n = 16 ), and social science ( n = 15 ); 98 respondents did not provide information regarding undergraduate training .
Approximately 50 % of respondents completed medical school in WV ( n = 213 ) with 188 completing medical school outside of
WV ; 27 respondents did not provide information regarding medical school attended . More respondents completed residency out of state ( n = 220 , 51.4 %) compared to in state ( n = 183 , 42.8 %). Of the 140 respondents who completed a fellowship , 23 indicated they completed their fellowship in WV . Of the 36 who completed an additional degree or certificate program , six completed this training in the state .
Respondents ( n = 367 ) who provided zip codes for primary practice locations were from 42 of WV ’ s 55 counties . Almost 50 % of respondents were from Monongalia ( 20.3 %), Kanawha ( 17.8 %), or Cabell ( 9.8 %) counties , and 9.6 % of respondents who completed this question had a primary practice out of state . Of the total respondents who provided a zip code for their primary practice site , 61 % ( n = 224 ) primarily practiced in an urban area and 24 % ( n = 143 ) practiced in a rural area . 20 Sixty percent of respondents ( n = 220 ) practiced in a primary care health profession shortage area . 22
Choice of Practice Specialty
Of the 428 total respondents , 420 indicated that they practiced primary ( n = 217 ) or specialty ( n = 203 ) care , as operationally defined in the Methods section . Table 1 provides the number and percent of respondents who indicated factors that influenced their decision to practice medicine in WV by specialty type .
Individuals selecting specialty care were more likely to report a current salary greater than $ 370,000 compared to all other groups . Although most respondents indicated that loan forgiveness or repayment programs did not influence their choice of primary or specialty care practice , primary care physicians were more likely to rate these financial considerations as important compared to specialty care providers ( Figure 1 ).
Figure 1 shows a rating of the importance of the availability of loan forgiveness or re-
TABLE 1 : Factors that Influenced Respondents Decision to Practice Medicine in West Virginia by Specialty Type |
Primary Care |
Specialty Care |
Total |
Influenced |
Did not Influence |
Influenced |
Did not Influence |
Influenced |
Did not Influence |
|
n |
% |
n |
% |
n |
% |
n |
% |
n |
% |
n |
% |
Financial Considerations |
52 |
24.0 |
165 |
76.0 |
59 |
29.1 |
144 |
70.9 |
111 |
26.4 |
309 |
73.6 |
Quality of Life |
112 |
51.6 |
105 |
48.4 |
84 |
41.4 |
119 |
58.6 |
196 |
46.7 |
224 |
53.3 |
Community Attributes |
88 |
40.6 |
129 |
59.4 |
63 |
31.0 |
140 |
69.0 |
151 |
36.0 |
269 |
64.0 |
Work Environment |
100 |
46.1 |
117 |
53.9 |
80 |
39.4 |
123 |
60.6 |
180 |
42.9 |
240 |
57.1 |
FIGURE 1 : Importance of Loan Forgiveness / Repayment Programs on Choice to Practice Medicine in West Virginia
160 140
141
154
Number of Responses
120 100 80 60 40 20 0
19 12
14 5 6 6 3 3
Extremely Very Moderately Slightly Not at all Rating of Importance
Primary Care Specialty Care
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