ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Frederick Ferguson, MD, MS; Daphne Calmes, MD, MSHS; Alexandria Thomas, MD, MS; Ricardo Antillon, MPH; Gerardo Moreno, MD, MS; David Carlisle, MD, PhD
Corresponding Author: Frederick Ferguson, MD, MS; Department of Family Medicine, National Clinician Scholars Program, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA.
Email: fferguson@mednet.ucla.edu
DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2025.250417R1
Keywords: Cross-Sectional Studies, Graduate Medical Education, Health Workforce, Medically Underserved Area, Minority Health, Primary Health Care, Surveys and Questionnaires, Underserved Populations, Workforce Diversity
Dates: Submitted: 10-28-2025; Revised: 12-08-2025; Accepted: 12-15-2025
Status: In Press.
IMPORTANCE: With a growing physician shortage and significant healthcare disparities in urban underserved communities, this research highlights the importance of a mission-driven medical education program’s impact on gradates’ intentions to practice in underserved areas.
OBJECTIVE: As the UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program (MEP) phases out, this study evaluates the program's impact on graduates' intentions to practice in underserved communities.
DESIGN: A pooled cross-sectional analysis of secondary data from 2010-2023 was conducted using AAMC data for program improvement. The data sources included AAMC biographical files, the Matriculating Student Questionnaire (MSQ), and the Graduation Questionnaire (GQ). The MSQ and GQ were administered at the beginning and end of medical school, respectively.
PARTICIPANTS: The dataset includes 2035 medical students from UCLA DGSOM (1,773 students) and UCLA/Drew MEP (262 students) from 2010-2023 who completed the GQ.
EXPOSURE: The primary exposure was enrollment in the UCLA/Drew MEP compared to UCLA.
MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES: The main outcome was students' responses to the question, “Do you plan to work primarily in an underserved area?” on the GQ, categorized as "yes," "no," or "undecided."
RESULTS: GQ data shows that graduates from the UCLA/Drew MEP are more likely to plan to specialize in family medicine (p<0.001) and practice in underserved areas (p<0.001) than UCLA students. UCLA/Drew MEP graduates reported higher participation in selected medical school activities (p<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program graduates were significantly more likely to report a willingness to practice in underserved areas compared to other UCLA graduates.