Results of McGill University's program to encourage early specialization in medicine, surgery, psychiatry, and family medicine showed that: students chose the medicine specialty with increasing frequency; poor performance on licensing examinations may have resulted; the process did not lead to an early career choice; and students did not use…

It is proposed that medical schools recruit students from rural areas, have them choose family practice, and train them in rural settings. Specific recommendations for improving content and context of rural medical care education are made, including merging internal medicine, family practice, and pediatrics as a single primary care specialty.…