ECU recognized for sending graduates into family medicine

The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University is one of top medical schools in the country for sending graduates into family medicine, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Based on a three-year average for the period ending last October, 18.9 percent of the school’s graduates have entered an accredited family medicine residency program. That ranked ECU second in the country and marked the fifth consecutive year ECU has been ranked in the top 10.

Representatives of the Brody School of Medicine and the other schools were recognized at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine meeting April 27-May 1 in New Orleans.

On March 17, 19 percent of Brody’s graduating students matched with family medicine residency programs during the school’s annual Match Day.

Also in March, a study by the American Academy for Family Physicians showed ECU topped the nation in producing family doctors from 1999-2009. During that span, ECU sent 19.5 percent of its graduates into into family medicine residencies, or the additional training doctors normally receive after medical school before entering practice.

ECU was also ranked 10th in primary care among medical schools in the latest rankings of U.S. graduate schools by U.S. News & World Report magazine

The AAFP is a national medical association representing more than 94,000 family physicians, family practice residents and medical students interested in family medicine. Family physicians are medical specialists trained in the diagnosis and treatment of the majority of medical problems. Family physicians care for people of all ages and both sexes.

The STFM is an academic organization committed to improving the quality of education in family medicine.