The change in specialty preference by medical students over time: an analysis of students who prefer family medicine.

Over one third of U.S. medical school matriculants from the graduating class of 1983 had an original career interest in family practice, although there was a significant attrition by the time of medical school graduation. Perhaps of greater importance, however, was that students who entered medical school with an interest in family practice were almost three times as likely to choose family practice as a career than matriculants who were interested in other specialties (24.2% versus 8.4%, P less than .001).