Study Ranks Quillen College of Medicine First in the Nation for
Producing Primary Care Physicians
A new study by a renowned professor of health policy ranks East
Tennessee State University’s James H. Quillen College of
Medicine as the top school in the nation for producing primary care
physicians and 12th among U.S. medical schools on a “social
mission” scale.
Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, the study’s lead author, is a professor
of health policy at George Washington University’s School of
Public Health and Health Services and the author of several books
on medical practice and U.S. health policy. Formerly the U.S.
assistant surgeon general, Mullan and researchers at George
Washington examined the record of 141 medical schools in the United
States and Puerto Rico in graduating physicians who will be able to
meet the primary health care needs of an expected influx of newly
insured patients.
The study, which is published in the June 15 edition of the journal
Annals of Internal Medicine, assigned a score to all medical
schools based on their ability to meet a “social
mission” defined by these criteria: producing physicians who
practice primary care, who work in underserved areas, and are
minorities.
The study showed that 53.5 percent of Quillen graduates went into
primary care practice. ETSU and East Carolina University were the
only two medical schools with more than half of graduates
practicing primary care.
The findings bring attention to the role that medical schools play
in determining the makeup of the U.S. physician workforce, Mullan
said.
“Where doctors choose to work, and what specialty they
select, are heavily influenced by medical school,” said
Mullan, a pediatrician who is also a professor of medicine at
George Washington’s medical school. “By recruiting
minority students and prioritizing the training of primary care
physicians and promoting practice in underserved areas, medical
schools will help deliver the health care that Americans
desperately need.”
The Quillen College of Medicine is consistently ranked high among
medical schools for producing primary care physicians and for its
rural medicine programs. Last month and for the second consecutive
year, the American Academy of Family Physicians recognized Quillen
as one of the top 10 schools in the nation for producing family
medicine physicians. In April, U.S.News & World Report listed
ETSU as sixth in the nation for rural medicine training.
“It’s exciting when Quillen is recognized for staying
true to its roots,” said Dr. Philip C. Bagnell, dean of the
College of Medicine. “A physician can experience a high
degree of professional self-satisfaction practicing medicine in a
rural community, and our curriculum is designed to illustrate that
to our students.”
Key findings from the study include:
- Public medical schools graduate higher proportions of primary care physicians than their private counterparts.
- Historically black schools have the highest social mission rankings.
- Meharry Medical College, located in Nashville and one of nation’s leading schools in producing African American physicians, had the second highest social mission score, making it and Quillen the only two Tennessee schools in the top 20.