MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Three of four 1995 graduates of the University of Tennessee’s medical school said they planned to establish practice within the state, a national survey indicates.
An Association of American Medical Colleges report says 74 percent of UT-Memphis’ 141 medical graduates this year indicated they’ll stay in Tennessee.
UT ranks first among the state’s four medical schools and was fourth in the South in the percentage of graduates planning to stay in state to practice, the AAMC report said.
UT medical students are encouraged to remain in Tennessee after they graduate, “and our efforts are paying off,” said Dr. Robert Summitt, dean of medicine.
“These figures show that UT-Memphis’ commitment to producing primary care practitioners is not new, since the results reported by the AAMC reflect what physicians who graduated five or more years ago are doing now,” Summitt said.
UT-Memphis ranked second, tied with Arkansas, in the percentage of 1989-91 medical graduates from Southern states who are currently in primary care practice. Thirty-one percent of the graduates of the 1989, 1990 and 1991 classes are now primary care practitioners. AAMC defines primary care as “family practice, general internal medicine and general pediatrics.”
The Medical College of Virginia, at 33 percent, had the region’s highest percentage for the three-year period.
“The General Assembly and the governor have been supportive of our efforts to emphasize primary care education and to encourage our graduates to practice in under-served areas of Tennessee,” UT President Joe Johnson said.
“I am extremely pleased we rank among the best in the nation in these important areas.”
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Contact: Dr. Robert Summitt (901-448-5529)