The Influence of Clinical Clerkships on Specialty Selection
by Sameera Davuluri, M.D. | June 29, 2026
Article Citation: Lee AL, Erlich DR, Wendling AL, Morley CP, Prunuske J, Polverento ME, Kovar-Gough, I, Phillips JP. The Relationship Between Medical School Clerkships and Primary Care Specialty Choice: A Narrative Review. Fam Med. 2022; 54(7):564-571. doi: 10.22454/FamMed.2022.857719.
What is this article about?
The authors present a narrative review following a systematic search of research articles examining the correlation between the presence of a primary care clerkship and students’ choice of primary care specialty. This review was done to reaffirm the established consensus that a required family medicine / primary care clerkship is a key educational intervention affecting career choice. A robust research methodology was used to analyze results from research datasets obtained through heterogeneous research methods. In this review, primary care was defined as family medicine, general internal medicine, or pediatrics.
Why should you read the article?
The article highlights important characteristics of clerkships associated with primary care specialty choice. This information is valuable to family medicine departments, particularly clerkship directors, medical school leadership, and community advocates striving towards increasing the primary care footprint. This review shows that most of the articles demonstrate a strong association between primary care specialty choice and clerkships were in 1990s, leading to the adoption of primary care clerkships in many medical school curricula. Despite 89% of US and Canadian medical schools having a required primary care clerkship, the shortage of primary care physicians persists. This highlights the need for more high-quality research to understand specific features of clerkships and extracurricular factors that can result in sustained student interest in primary care careers.
How can you use this article?
Key finding of this review was that the repeated positive correlation between the presence of a required, high-quality, 4-week-long primary care or family medicine clerkship in core clerkship year (3rd year) increased student choice of primary care, resulting in higher family medicine match rate. This, along with medical school emphasis on primary care, exposure to family medicine faculty in preclinical years, and the presence of senior faculty in leadership positions, has been shown to be beneficial in increasing student interest in primary care. Exposure to comprehensive care, continuity of care, and role modeling by high-quality preceptors was also associated with primary care specialty choice. These findings help us recognize the aspects of clerkships and institutional environment that are more effective in influencing students’ decision-making and can help maximize their effect.
Review Authors: Sameera Davuluri, M.D.; Associate Professor and Clerkship Director, Department of Family Medicine, University of Alabama Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL. Organization: Society of Teachers of Family Medicine