Demographics of physicians in family medicine residencies during the transition to single GME accreditation

CONTEXT: In 2020, the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) became the sole accrediting body for osteopathic and allopathic residency programs. Programs were given the option to apply for Osteopathic Recognition (OR) to emphasize their training in osteopathic principles and practices. This study, protocol 19-366 A5 (Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance [CERA] Survey), was ethically approved by the American Academy of Family Physicians Institutional Review Board (IRB). The study was exempt from clinical trial registration due to its noninterventional online survey methodology. Participants electronically confirmed consent prior to survey initiation. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to examine the demographic changes in osteopathic residents, faculty, and program directors (PDs) in ACGME family medicine (FM) programs over the 5-year period of transition to single accreditation. METHODS: Utilizing demographic data from the 2015 and 2020 CERA omnibus PD surveys, we conducted analyses to examine the changes in number and gender distribution of osteopathic residents, faculty, and PDs. RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2020, there were statistically significant increases in Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) PDs, faculty, and residents in FM residency programs. There is also a nonstatistically significant trend toward a higher proportion of female PDs, from 38.1 % in 2015 to 43.5 % in 2020. CONCLUSIONS: The number of DOs in ACGME-accredited FM residency programs increased during the transition to single accreditation. Further research is needed to determine the role of Osteopathic PDs and faculty in OR status.