Table 2:

Practice intentions of family medicine residents exiting residencies in 2016 and 2017 who responded to the Family Medicine Longitudinal Survey, by region

IntentionNo. (%) of respondentsp value*
TotalOntarioWestern CanadaAtlantic CanadaQuebec
Comprehensive care and confidence in current ability
Residents reporting that it was somewhat or highly likely that they would commit to providing comprehensive care to the same group of patients in their first 3 years of practice (Q17, n = 1652)1095 (66.3)474 (85.1)401 (61.2)27 (40.3)193 (51.7)< 0.001
Residents reporting that they agreed or strongly agreed with this statement: “I am confident in my current ability to provide comprehensive care to the same group of patients over time.” (Q19, n = 1658)1529 (92.2)509 (91.2)609 (93.4)55 (82.1)356 (93.4)0.006
Residents reporting it was somewhat or highly likely they would practise in the following organizational models
Comprehensive care delivered in 1 clinical setting (e.g., office based) (Q16a, n = 1659)1019 (61.4)320 (57.5)416 (63.7)32 (47.8)251 (65.7)0.004
Comprehensive care provided across multiple clinical settings (in-hospital, long-term care, office) (Q16b, 1661)1261 (75.9)437 (78.0)504 (77.2)56 (83.6)264 (69.3)0.004
Comprehensive care that includes a special interest (sports medicine, emergency medicine, palliative care, etc.) (Q16c, n = 1661)1122 (67.6)372 (66.6)451 (69.1)49 (73.1)250 (65.5)0.4
Practice focused only on specific clinical areas (e.g., sports medicine, maternity care, emergency medicine, palliative care, hospital medicine) (Q16d, n = 1658)522 (31.5)225 (40.3)179 (27.5)18 (26.9)100 (26.3)< 0.001
Solo practice (Q15a, n = 1645)126 (7.7)25 (4.6)59 (9.1)8 (12.1)34 (9.0)0.007
Group physician practice (Q15b, n = 1658)1556 (93.8)536 (96.2)615 (94.0)60 (90.9)345 (90.6)0.003
Interprofessional team-based practice (Q15c, n = 1656)1459 (88.1)520 (93.7)561 (85.9)59 (89.4)319 (83.5)< 0.001
Practice that includes teaching health profession learners (Q15d, n = 1652)1293 (78.3)370 (66.9)566 (86.8)53 (79.1)304 (80.0)< 0.001
Residents reporting it was somewhat or highly likely they would provide care in the following clinical domains in their first 3 years of practice
Care across the life cycle (Q21a, n = 1658)1506 (90.8)515 (92.1)594 (91.0)56 (83.6)341 (90.0)0.1
Intrapartum care (Q21b, n = 1654)623 (37.7)174 (31.2)276 (42.5)28 (41.8)145 (38.3)0.001
Mental health care (Q21c, n = 1654)1467 (88.7)484 (86.7)587 (90.3)60 (89.6)336 (88.7)0.3
Chronic disease management (Q21d, n = 1650)1541 (93.4)513 (92.1)618 (94.8)59 (90.8)351 (93.4)0.2
Palliative care, end-of-life care (Q21e, n = 1653)1060 (64.1)276 (49.6)483 (74.1)48 (72.7)253 (66.8)< 0.001
Office-based clinical procedures (Q21f, n = 1649)1382 (83.8)435 (78.4)585 (90.0)52 (78.8)310 (82.0)< 0.001
In-hospital clinical procedures (e.g., chest tube insertion, adult lumbar puncture, nasogastric tube insertion) (Q21g, n = 1655)646 (39.0)193 (34.6)296 (45.5)24 (35.8)133 (35.1)< 0.001
Residents reporting it was somewhat or highly likely they would provide care in the following practice settings or to the following populations in their first 3 years of practice
In emergency departments (Q21h, n = 1656)693 (41.8)194 (34.8)324 (49.7)32 (47.8)143 (37.7)< 0.001
In hospital (Q21i, n = 1653)983 (59.5)315 (56.7)430 (66.0)49 (74.2)189 (49.9)< 0.001
In the home (Q21j, n = 1654)695 (42.0)176 (31.6)298 (45.8)35 (52.2)186 (49.1)< 0.001
In long-term care facilities (Q21k, n = 1655)678 (41.0)169 (30.3)344 (52.8)27 (40.3)138 (36.4)< 0.001
Marginalized, disadvantaged and vulnerable populations (Q21l, n = 1652)873 (52.8)177 (31.9)449 (69.0)43 (64.2)204 (53.8)< 0.001
Rural populations (Q21m, n = 1577)852 (54.0)252 (45.2)383 (58.7)46 (68.7)171 (57.2)< 0.001
Elderly populations (Q21n, n = 1576)1425 (90.4)480 (86.0)607 (93.0)62 (92.5)276 (92.6)< 0.001
First Nations, Inuit and Métis (Q21o, n = 1656)694 (41.9)121 (21.7)422 (64.6)22 (32.8)129 (34.0)< 0.001
  • * Calculated with χ2 test.