Table 2. Demographics of Family Physicians taking the American Board of Family Medicine Recertification Examination in July 2009, Stratified by Rural Definition
DemographicsModerate Definition*Conservative Definition
Rural (n = 2117)Metropolitan (n = 1613)P ValueRural (n = 1099)Metropolitan (n = 1009)P Value
Mean age (SD), years52.87 (±8.61)52.13 (±8.70).00952.86 (±8.56)51.9 (±8.73).011
Organization of practice<.001<.001
    Group996 (47.0)626 (38.8)518 (47.1)356 (35.3)
    Independent (solo)458 (21.6)281 (17.4)221 (20.1)181 (17.9)
    Other663 (31.4)706 (43.8)360 (32.8)472 (46.8)
Sex<.001<.001
    Male1519 (71.8)995 (61.7)782 (71.2)642 (63.6)
    Female598 (28.2)618 (38.3)317 (28.8)367 (36.4)
Examination result<.001<.001
    Pass1886 (89.1)1354 (83.9)990 (90.1)837 (83)
    Fail231 (10.9)259 (16.1)109 (9.9)172 (17)
Medical training<.001<.001
    United States and Canada1942 (91.7)1330 (82.4)1012 (92.1)821 (81.4)
    International175 (8.3)283 (17.5)87 (7.9)188 (18.6)
Degree.001.010
    MD1933 (91.3)1521 (94.3)1001 (91.1)949 (94.1)
    DO184 (8.7)92 (5.7)98 (8.9)60 (5.9)
Academic appointment<.001<.001
    None1586 (74.9)1102 (68.3)816 (74.2)677 (67.1)
    Yes, full-time30 (1.4)146 (9.1)14 (1.3)98 (9.7)
    Yes, part-time501 (23.7)365 (22.6)269 (24.5)234 (23.2)
Any other certification held.009.007
    Yes44 (2.1)56 (3.5)21 (1.9)39 (3.9)
    No2073 (97.9)1557 (96.5)1078 (98.1)970 (96.1)
  • Data are n (%) unless otherwise indicated.

  • * Moderate rural definition: rural ≤ 25,000 in community, metropolitan ≥ 500,000 in community.

  • Conservative rural definition: rural ≤ 10,000 in community, metropolitan ≥ 1,000,000 in community.

  • SD, standard deviation.