TABLE 1 : Factors that Influence the Decision to Practice Medicine in West Virginia by Medical School Attended ( continued )
Work Environment n Not at All Slightly Moderately Very Extremely Broader scope of practice 386 165 47 71 76 27
Collegial support or mentorship
Fellow providers at practice site
Opportunity to conduct research
Opportunity to precept medical students
Opportunity to teach in a classroom / academic setting
MU 43 26 6 5 4 2 WVSOM 35 17 4 7 5 2
WVU 130 51 15 22 37 5 Not WV 178 71 22 37 30 18
373 151 40 80 73 29
MU 43 22 5 8 7 1 WVSOM 34 19 3 6 5 1
WVU 121 43 6 30 28 14 Not WV 175 67 26 36 33 13
377 127 47 81 79 43
MU 43 17 3 11 8 4 WVSOM 35 13 6 7 7 2
WVU 123 30 16 34 25 18 Not WV 176 67 22 29 39 19
370 240 56 45 17 12
MU 42 16 11 10 3 2 WVSOM 32 27 3 1 1 0
WVU 121 79 18 16 4 4 Not WV 175 118 24 18 9 6
373 163 75 76 33 26
MU 42 16 11 10 3 2 WVSOM 33 13 8 6 4 2
WVU 122 42 27 25 15 13 Not WV 176 92 29 35 11 9
372 220 50 45 34 23
MU 43 28 6 4 3 2 WVSOM 34 21 3 4 2 4
WVU 120 61 17 15 16 11
Not WV 175 110 24 22 13 6
tify as native West Virginian practice specialty care ( n = 131 ) compared to primary care ( n = 103 ). More respondents who attended medical school out of state practice specialty care ( n = 95 ) than primary care
( n = 50 ). More respondents who attended medical school in WV practice primary care ( n = 132 ) than specialty care ( n = 81 ). More respondents who attended medical school out of state and did not identify as a native of WV practice specialty care ( n = 92 ) than primary care ( n = 49 ) ( Figure 2 ).
Figure 2 shows the number of respondents who identified as a native of WV by practice specialty ( primary care or specialty care ) and medical school attended .
Pipeline Participation
A total of 434 respondents provided information about their participation in pipeline programs ranging from primary education through residency training . Of the 434 total respondents , 69.4 % ( n = 301 ) indicated participation in at least one pipeline program during their education through residency . As all WV pipeline programs have been available for varying numbers of years , participation in some training programs was analyzed based on the year of graduation from either high school or medical school , dependent upon program focus . Some records were eliminated from certain analyses due to respondents indicating participation in a particular program that did not yet exist . Many respondents participated in one or more programs at multiple time points during their training . Most respondents participated in pipeline activities during medical school ( n = 153 ), followed by residency ( n = 86 ), undergraduate ( n = 50 ), other graduate training ( n = 18 ), and K-12 education ( n = 16 ). A summary of results is found in Table 2 .
High School Pipeline Participation
The HSTA program in WV was introduced into K-12 education in 1998 ; thus , all respondents who graduated from high school prior to 1999 were excluded from analysis . Sixty-three respondents graduated after 1999 in the sample . Of these respondents , nine ( 13.6 %) reported that they had participated in HSTA activities during high school . High school graduation years for those respondents who reported participation in HSTA ranged from 2000-2006 , with the majority of those in 2000 and 2001 . Of those , none reported that HSTA influenced their choice of career as a physician .
STEM education was also analyzed as an influence on choice of careers for physician respondents . As STEM education has been available for numerous years , the en-
West Virginia Medical Journal • March 2022 • 47