Medical Education > Follow-up Survey of Jefferson Graduates
Selected Highlights From a Follow-Up Survey of Physicians
Who Graduated From JMC Between 1975-2000
The Center for Research in Medical Education and Health Care of Jefferson Medical College maintains one of the most comprehensive, extensive, and uninterrupted databases of medical students and graduates of all medical schools in the nation and abroad. The Jefferson Longitudinal Study of Medical Education, spearheaded by Dr. Joseph S. Gonnella from its inception, retrieves data from this database that include demographic variables (e.g., gender, age), admissions information (e.g., SAT scores, MCAT scores, and undergraduate GPAs), course grades and clinical competence evaluations at Jefferson, information on attitudes, future plans and psychosocial attributers collected by the matriculating and graduating questionnaires, performance on medical licensing examinations (e.g., Steps 1, 2, and 3 of the USMLE), evaluations of clinical competence in residency, training and practice specialties, geographical areas of training and of practice, board certification status, medical faculty appointments, and other professional and work related information which are routinely updated by using data from the Physicians’ Professional Data file of the American Medical Association (AMA), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the Jefferson Alumni Office, and periodic follow-up surveys of the graduates. This productive study has resulted in 155 publications in peer reviewed journals (as of 2005). Abstracts of these publications are posted at http://jdc.jefferson.edu/jlsme
As a routine part of the Jefferson Longitudinal Study of Medical Education, follow-up surveys are undertaken periodically to obtain information about Jefferson graduates’ professional activities, research productivities, employment status, work settings, satisfaction with the medical education received at Jefferson Medical College, and satisfaction with their careers in medicine.
In the latest follow-up study undertaken in 2006-2007, a survey was mailed to 5,349 graduates of JMC between 1975 and 2000; 60% with deliverable mailing addresses responded (n=3,195). Jefferson graduates gave a very positive rating to their medical education at Jefferson (mean of 8.1 on a 10-point scale); and they also expressed a high degree of satisfaction with their career in medicine (mean of 7.7 on a 10-point scale). In addition to patient care responsibilities, many Jefferson graduates reported involvement with other professional activities and research. Selected highlights of these findings are presented in Exhibits 1, 2, and 3.
EXHIBIT 3: Professional Activities and Research Productivity in the Past Five Years
Reported by Physicians Who Graduated From JMC Between 1975 and 2000
| Activity | %Affirmative Response | Mean # of Times |
| Served on a professional committee (hospital, professional society) | 67% | 5.1 |
| Presented patient education/research findings on radio, on TV, in a newspaper, or before a community group | 43% | 5.8 |
| Conducted research, including clinical trials | 36% | 5.9 |
| Published an article in professional journals | 35% | 6.6 |
| Presented a paper before national professional groups | 25 | 6.3 |
| Served as a reviewer for a professional journal | 18% | 8.9 |
| Received a grant for research or training | 14% | 2.9 |
| Shared in developing medical/surgical procedures, instrument drug or
technique that was described in the literature | 11% | 2.2 |
| Held office in a national professional organization | 8% | 2.3 |
| Served as an editor, or on the editorial board of a professional journal | 7% | 2.4 |
Selected highlights from the Follow-Up Study:
Higher ratings of satisfaction with career in medicine were associated with:
- Higher medical school admission interview ratings,
- Higher ratings in required clinical clerkships ,
- Higher class rank in medical school,
- Higher satisfaction with education at Jefferson,
- More hours per week spent in teaching medical students and residents,
- More hours per week devoted to research,
- More research productivity and academic activities,
- Higher scores on the Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning.
For further information contact
Mohammadreza.Hojat@jefferson.edu or Jon.Veloski@jefferson.edu.
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