Complete survey response data are presented in Additional file 1. Representatives of 76 medical schools (59%) responded to the survey. Of these, 73 respondents (96%) reported that their medical schools had VMS programs. (These 73 individuals' survey responses comprise the data set for this study. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, all forthcoming percentages are based on a denominator of 73.) Notably, there were no significant differences between responding schools and nonresponding schools regarding the percentage that had their VMS program listed in the AAMC's "Extramural Electives Compendium" Web site (P = .51), 2007 medical student enrollments (P = .37), or 2007 US News & World Report rankings (P = .14). For the comparison of the 2007 US News & World Report rankings, a sample size calculation revealed that the numbers of responders and nonresponders provided 80% power to detect an effect size of 0.5, which normally is a small difference. Following is a summary of the survey findings organized by specific themes.