Regional physician supply and graduate medical education

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between medical students' practice plans and residency plans. The paper concludes that most students surveyed knew where they wanted to practice and that, unless otherwise constrained, students who knew where they wanted to practice tended to apply to programs there. This finding suggests that the Weiskotten literature and its apparent policy implications should be evaluated critically. In particular, the results call into question the rationale for unrestricted subsidies of undergraduate and graduate medical education by the states.