Table 3.
Demographic Information for the Study Sample and for the Population of Physicians Who Completed Any One of the ABIM PIMs
| Characteristics | Study sample (N = 957) | Completed any ABIM PIM (N = 9100) | P-value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age (SD) | 44.4 (6.18) | 44.5 (6.26) | 0.39 |
| Female physicians | 35% | 29% | <.001 |
| Mean % of time spent in an ambulatory setting (SD) | 77% (20%) | 61% (28%) | <.001 |
| Subspecialty: | <.001 | ||
| General internal medicine only | 81% | 50% | |
| Endocrinology | 13% | 3% | |
| Geriatric medicine | 4% | 4% | |
| Other | 3% | 44% | |
| Practice types: | <.001 | ||
| Solo physician medical practice | 26% | 16% | |
| Group private practice or group/staff model HMO | 48% | 47% | |
| Academic faculty practice | 6% | 13% | |
| Hospital-owned office-based practice | 10% | 7% | |
| Other (e.g., military/government, nursing homes) | 9% | 18% | |
| U.S. Region: | 0.50 | ||
| Northeast | 22% | 24% | |
| Midwest | 22% | 21% | |
| South | 36% | 35% | |
| West | 19% | 19% | |
| Outside U.S. | 1% | 1% | |
| Mean IM certification exam score – 1st attempt (SD) † | 458 (103) | 474 (96) | <.001 |
ABIM, American Board of Internal Medicine; HMO, Health Maintenance Organization; PIMs, Practice Improvement Modules; US, United States; IM, Internal Medicine.
* t-tests were conducted for age, percent of time spent in an office or ambulatory setting, and IM certification exam scores; chi-squared tests for the categorical variables.
† Scores were statistically equated to be comparable over time and scaled to have a mean = 500 and SD = 100. Exam scores were available for 902 physicians in our study sample and for 8284 physicians who completed any one of the available ABIM PIMs.