Methods and Sample Representativeness of the Fall 2025 CERA Program Director Survey.

INTRODUCTION

The Council of Academic Family Medicine (CAFM) Educational Research Alliance (CERA) conducts recurring national surveys in academic family medicine. This Fall 2025 Program Director Survey report describes survey development, administration, respondent demographics, and sample representativeness.

METHODS

Eighteen investigator proposals underwent peer review, resulting in six refined question sets (modules) incorporated into an omnibus survey. After pilot testing and ethics board review, CERA distributed the electronic survey to all ACGME-accredited family medicine residency program directors. We used descriptive statistics to summarize demographic characteristics. We assessed representativeness by comparing the sample with Association of Family Medicine Residency (AFMRD) membership data and by using nonresponse bias testing through early versus late responder comparisons using χ2 and Fisher's Exact Tests where appropriate.

RESULTS

Of 707 potential respondents in the sampling frame, six were excluded, yielding a final sampling frame of 701 program directors. A total of 313 responded, giving a response rate of 44.7%. The sample did not differ significantly from AFMRD membership by gender or race/ethnicity, though fewer identified as underrepresented in medicine (URiM; 11.2% vs 16.1%). Early and late respondents showed no significant demographic differences, though Black/African American representation had a high amount of late compared to early responders.

CONCLUSIONS

The fall 2025 CERA Program Director Survey achieved demographic representativeness and showed no evidence of substantial nonresponse bias. The URiM and Black/African American response patterns suggest a meaningful signal that warrants attention in future CERA cycles to expand equitable survey recruitment practices.