Where Do Residents Practice After Training?

Medical practices that are considering recruiting new physicians may want to consider the following fact: most residents will ultimately practice in the state in which they trained. The Florida Statutory Teaching Hospital Council, which represents Florida’s six teaching hospitals, says that about 70% of residents end up practicing in the community in which they do their residency. They attribute this primarily to residents developing relationships with hospitals and with other physicians in the community during their training.

In addition, since these physicians and their families become well acquainted to the community, they are more confident about setting up a practice locally and thus they are more likely to stay in the area. In northeast Florida there are shortages in specialties that are not well-represented in the residency programs there.

In addition to a constant supply of new positions, a community derives other benefits from having residency programs. The Jacksonville area, for example, sees a $12 million impact to the local economy annually from the teaching programs.

Where does this leave a medical practice with no residency programs nearby? It may be more difficult to recruit a new partner since adjusting to the community is a big unknown for the new doctor. If the spouse is also a physician, this can complicate things further, if he or she is also looking for a job. Practices which are within driving distance of residency programs may want to consider developing relationships with physicians trainees – perhaps some sort of externship, if not an actual rotation. In our group, for example, a high school student who shadowed one of our partners recently became our newest associate.