Why graduates of the LSU School of Medicine, New Orleans choose primary care careers.

In an effort to determine the factors that influence medical students to choose careers in primary care fields, 1994 LSU-New Orleans School of Medicine graduates in residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics were surveyed. Factors relating to internal influences, such as clerkships or faculty exposure, or external factors, such as a primary care physician role model or national emphasis on primary care, were ranked according to their influence upon the respondents career choice. The more influential factors were clerkships and primary care electives and the national emphasis on primary care. A majority of the respondents indicated plans to practice in Louisiana. Recommendations for increasing primary care interest are proposed.