Medical schools producing the most physical medicine and rehabilitation residents: An analysis of matriculating residents from 2017 to 2021

Background Residency choice is often influenced by experiences in medical school. It is unclear what potential factors contribute to medical schools producing higher numbers of physical medicine & rehabilitation (PM&R) residents. Objective To identify the medical schools producing the most PM&R residents from 2017 to 2021 and potential influencing factors toward this production. Design Descriptive, cross‐sectional study. Setting Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited PM&R programs; allopathic/osteopathic/international medical schools. Interventions REDCap Survey. Participants Representatives from medical schools producing the most PM&R residents. Methods The medical schools that produced the most PM&R residents from 2017 to 2021 were identified using publicly available information on the internet. A subgroup of the highest producing schools were surveyed to determine potential factors that contributed to production of PM&R residents. Main Outcome Measure Medical schools with the highest number of matriculated PM&R residents from 2017 to 2021; potential factors influencing matriculating PM&R residents. Results The medical school that produced the most PM&R residents from 2017 to 2021 was New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. Nine of the 11 medical schools producing the most PM&R residents were osteopathic. Of osteopathic graduates applying to residency, 2.87% matriculated into PM&R residencies compared to 1.21% of allopathic graduates ( p < .001), though a greater number of allopathic graduates overall were represented. Among survey respondents 93.3% (14/15) attributed exposure to PM&R faculty/residents and exposure to PM&R through medical school curriculum as perceived factors contributing to production of PM&R residents. Conclusion Osteopathic medical schools accounted for most of the schools producing the highest number of PM&R residents. A statistically significant higher percentage of osteopathic graduates were found to pursue PM&R as a career compared to allopathic counterparts although the total number of students entering PM&R was greater from allopathic schools. Potential factors contributing to medical students pursuing PM&R included faculty/resident involvement with medical students, and PM&R exposure through curriculum or interest groups.