title: Discerning applicants' interests in rural medicine: a textual analysis of admission essays.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite efforts to construct targeted medical school admission processes using applicant-level correlates of future practice location, accurately gauging applicants' interests in rural medicine remains an imperfect science. This study explores the usefulness of textual analysis to identify rural-oriented themes and values underlying applicants' open-ended responses to admission essays.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study population consisted of 75 applicants to the Rural Physician Leadership Program (RPLP) at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Using WordStat, a proprietary text analysis program, applicants' American Medical College Application Service personal statement and an admission essay written at the time of interview were searched for predefined keywords and phrases reflecting rural medical values. From these text searches, derived scores were then examined relative to interviewers' subjective ratings of applicants' overall acceptability for admission to the RPLP program and likelihood of practicing in a rural area.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The two interviewer-assigned ratings of likelihood of rural practice and overall acceptability were significantly related. A statistically significant relationship was also found between the rural medical values scores and estimated likelihood of rural practice. However, there was no association between rural medical values scores and subjective ratings of applicant acceptability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  That applicants' rural values in admission essays were not related to interviewers' overall acceptability ratings indicates that other factors played a role in the interviewers' assessments of applicants' acceptability for admission.
authors: Office of Medical Education, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA; carol.elam@uky.edu.
authors: Carol L
authors: CL
authors: Elam
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors: Anthony D
authors: AD
authors: Weaver
authors: Center of Excellence in Rural Health, Hazard, KY, USA.|University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors: Elmer T
authors: ET
authors: Whittler
authors: Office of Medical Education, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors: Terry D
authors: TD
authors: Stratton
authors: Office of Rural and Community Health, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors: Linda M
authors: LM
authors: Asher
authors: Office of Medical Education, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors: Kimberly L
authors: KL
authors: Scott
authors: Office of Medical Education, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors: Emery A
authors: EA
authors: Wilson
mesh_terms: D002321:Career Choice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D019035:Rural Health Services; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: admissions; application essays; medical student selection; rural medical programs; rural medicine