The 2022 Medical School Graduation Questionnaire is an annual survey that asks graduates of accredited U.S. Allopathic medical schools about their medical school experience. Last month, the aggregate results for 2022 were released, and included responses from over eighty percent of the medical school graduates from academic year 2021-2022. Over half of the respondents, 53.7 percent, were women (compared to 51.2 percent of the population) and 17.8 percent were underrepresented minorities (compared to 18.9 percent of the population).
We’ve summarized key findings below.
Most students report satisfaction with the quality of their medical education and their school’s support of their development as physicians.
The vast majority of students (88.4 percent) agreed or strongly agreed that they are satisfied with the quality of their medical education.
Just over nine in ten respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they have acquired the necessary clinical skills to begin residency (91.2 percent) and that their medical school has done a good job fostering and nurturing their development as a future physician (91.0 percent).
More Students are graduating without medical school debt, and many who do have debt are exploring loan forgiveness programs.
Just under one-third of respondents (30.9 percent) reported that they would graduate with no medical school debt; this proportion has been increasing modestly over the last several years, up from 27.7 percent in 2018.
Among those who are graduating from medical school with debt, the median amount is $200,000.
Among students graduating with debt, about half (49 percent) reported that they plan to enter a loan forgiveness program, with most (83.9 percent) interested in the Public Loan Forgiveness Program.
Students continue to select specialties based on personal fit; the proportion of students who experienced “away rotations'' has almost returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Most respondents reported that “fit with personality, interests, and skills” influenced their choice of specialty (86.4 percent). This was followed closely by “content of specialty” (82.4 percent), “role model influence” (48.6 percent), and “work/life balance” (47.6 percent). These options have consistently been the most frequently cited in the survey over the past five years.
An increased number of students reported participating in away rotations (45.9 percent), which is up compared to 2021 (18.5 percent). But this is not quite as high as in previous years (55.5 percent in 2019; 54.7 percent in 2020).
Fewer students reported participating in elective activities compared to 2021, which includes working at a free clinic (69.8 percent), home care (18.8 percent), nursing homecare (16.2 percent), or a global health experience (14.2 percent). Slightly more reported authoring a published paper (62.6 percent, compared to 61.2 percent in 2021 and 55.1 percent in 2020).
Students are aware of mistreatment policies and slightly fewer reported experiencing mistreatment in medical school this year compared to last.
Almost all respondents reported awareness of school policies on mistreatment of medical students (97.6 percent), and said they were familiar with reporting procedures for mistreatment (90.2 percent).
Over one-third of students (39.4 percent) reported experiencing one of 16 named types of mistreatment—including public humiliation, derogatory remarks, and discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation, or other personal traits or beliefs—one or more times during medical school. This number dropped slightly from 40.3 percent the year before.
Among students who experienced mistreatment, most said it occurred during a clinical clerkship (87.6 percent). Mistreatment occurred most frequently during rotations in surgery (55.2 percent), obstetrics and gynecology/women’s health (30.2 percent), and internal medicine (22.6 percent).