Future family medicine physicians make up the largest chunk of the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine 2022 graduating class, with 23 physicians matched into family medicine residencies. 

Photo: UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine

That percentage – 12.2% - is the largest share of graduates going into any one specialty, matched by 12.2% also going into internal medicine.

In total, 68 of the 189 members of the graduating class, or 36%, matched into primary care specialties, including family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and medicine-pediatrics. One hundred percent of the graduating class matched into residency programs, another remarkable stat for the 2022 group of graduates.

“We are so proud of this class and excited to see so many students pursuing careers in family medicine and primary care,” said Irfan Asif, M.D., chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, associate dean for primary care and rural health and head of UAB’s primary care service line.

“Family medicine physicians can build strong relationships with patients and families over a lifetime of care and they can truly make a difference in their communities,” Asif said. “In general, Alabama is in dire need of more family medicine and primary care physicians and I applaud the graduates who have committed themselves to meeting that need.”

“The expanded number of our students entering into family medicine and primary care residencies is a tremendous result for our school and the state of Alabama,” said Craig J. Hoesley, M.D., senior associate dean for medical education. “UAB primary care physicians on every campus have served as superb role models and mentors for our students. Innovate longitudinal curricular programs such as the CU2RE program or the Rural Medical Scholars program have provided students interested in primary care with the opportunity for sustained engagement and professional development.”

The Department of Family and Community Medicine’s Comprehensive Urban Underserved and Rural Experience (CU2RE) program was established in 2020 to further build up the pipeline of primary care providers serving rural and urban underserved areas of Alabama. That program has now welcomed two cohorts of UAB Heersink students in their first and second year of medical school and, this summer, will host 13 undergraduate students in the inaugural CU2RE Primary Care Pipeline Program. Students benefit from mentoring and coaching, unique clinical experiences including a 10-patient panel, service opportunities, summer programming and more, all aimed at encouraging and equipping them to meet the need for primary care physicians in Alabama.