Definitions
Percent of Doctors Working in Texas Two Years After Completing Residency with UT System

The percent of Medical Residency Completers Practicing in Texas (LBB: I-4 & HC-1) is defined as physicians who are practicing medicine at a Texas address two years after completing an institutionally-affiliated and accredited residency training program in Texas. For example, for those completing their residency training program in 2012, this metric looks at whether or not they are practicing medicine at a Texas address in 2014—two years after completion.

Residency Program

A resident is a physician holding a degree (usually an M.D. or D.O.) from an accredited medical school, who practices medicine in a hospital or clinic. Whereas medical school teaches physicians a broad range of medical knowledge, medical residency gives in-depth training within a specific branch of medicine. Residencies can range from three to seven years. Successful completion of residency training is a requirement to practice medicine in many jurisdictions.

Sources

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), Accountability System, Patient Care section. Institutions self-report this measure. It is understood that they are keeping track of their medical resident alumni.

Additional Information

Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) collects a similar metric each year, but they do not consider the same two-year window as THECB. AAMC surveys doctors and asks if they are practicing in the same state that they finished their residency and/or medical school. The time frame is not taken into account. National benchmarking information is taken from this survey (State Physician Workforce Data Book).