Attrition from general practice: career patterns of Toronto medical school graduates.

Reported here are the results of a study of the degree to which medical careers in general practice versus specialization are pursued by graduates of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in the first six years after the completion of their internships. The retention rates in general practice and residency are documented on an annual basis using the life table method. The annual rate of attrition from general practice dropped substantially after the first three years. Fifteen percent of the initial general practice group dropped out during the first year, 10 percent of the remainder in the second year, and 8 percent of the rest in the third year. In each of the subsequent three years, the attrition rate was 4 percent, 4 percent, and 2 percent, respectively.