Relationship Between Medical Students’ Career Priority and Specialty Choice: A Nationwide Multicenter Survey

Abstract Backgrounds The shortage of physicians in several specialties has been brought to public attention in several countries. However, little is known about factors affecting medical students’ specialty choice. The objectives of our study were to illustrate medical students’ career priority clusters and to assess their association with specialty preference. Methods We conducted a nationwide multicenter survey in 2015 at 17 medical schools. The study participants were asked their top three specialty preferences, demographic characteristics, and 14 career priority questions. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to determine the effect of each variables on student career choice. Results A total of 1,264 responses were included in the analyses. The top five specialty choice were internal medicine: 833, general practice: 408, paediatrics: 372, surgery: 344, and emergency medicine: 244. An exploratory factor analysis mapped the 14 career priorities into 3-factor solution; “primary care orientation”, “advanced and specific care”, and “personal life orientation”. Multilevel logistic regression models yielded satisfactory accuracy with the highest ROC curve (AUROC) noted in surgery (0.818), general practice (0.769), and emergency medicine (0.744). The career priorities under “primary care orientation” had positive association with choosing general practice, emergency medicine, internal medicine, and paediatrics. The “advanced and specific care” career priorities facilitated surgery and emergency medicine choice, while reducing the likelihood of choosing less procedure-oriented specialties, such as internal medicine, general practice, and paediatrics. Conclusions Our results demonstrated medical students’ career priorities and their association with specialty preference. Individualized career support may be beneficial for both medical students and each specialty fields.

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Diversity of the physician workforce: Specialty choice decisions during medical school

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0259434 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (11) ◽

pp. e0259434

Author(s):

John Burkhardt ◽

Stephen DesJardins ◽

Larry Gruppen

Keyword(s):

Internal Medicine ◽

Medical Students ◽

Medical School ◽

Student Attitudes ◽

Regression Models ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Specialty Choice ◽

Medical Graduate ◽

Student Body ◽

Medical Specialties

Background Despite efforts to increase the overall diversity of the medical student body, some medical specialties have a less diverse applicant pool based on both gender and race than would be expected based on medical graduate demographics. Objectives To identify whether women and Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) medical students have baseline differences in their career interests or if their career plans change more during medical school when compared to men and non-URIM students. Methods Secondary data analyses of all medical students who applied through ERAS from 2005–2010 was conducted. Binary logistic regression models with the response being a planned career in one of four medical specialties (internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, and general surgery/surgical specialties) at medical school entry and graduation. Regression models included demographics, student attitudes, debt, academic metrics, and medical school experiences. Results Comparatively, women were less likely to be interested in internal medicine and surgery and more interested in pediatrics and OB/GYN at matriculation. URiM students expressed more interest in OB/GYN and surgery when starting medical school. At graduation, women were less likely to plan for internal medicine and surgery and were more interested in pursuing OB/GYN and pediatrics. URiM students were more likely to plan for a career in internal medicine and less likely to choose pediatrics. Conclusions From matriculation to graduation, women have relatively stable preferences regarding planned medical specialties. In contrast, URiM students’ specialty plans shifted over time among the four specialties, with variation in preferences occurring between matriculation and graduation.

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What Makes a Great Resident Teacher? A Multicenter Survey of Medical Students Attending an Internal Medicine Conference

Journal of Graduate Medical Education ◽

10.4300/jgme-d-13-00426 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 694-697 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Lindsay Melvin ◽

Zain Kassam ◽

Andrew Burke ◽

Parveen Wasi ◽

John Neary

Keyword(s):

Internal Medicine ◽

Medical Students ◽

Effective Teachers ◽

Critical Role ◽

High Expectations ◽

Multicenter Survey ◽

Close Proximity ◽

Core Concepts ◽

Giving Feedback ◽

Teacher Traits

Abstract Background Residents have a critical role in the education of medical students and have a unique teaching relationship because of their close proximity in professional development and opportunities for direct supervision. Although there is emerging literature on ways to prepare residents to be effective teachers, there is a paucity of data on what medical students believe are the attributes of successful resident teachers. Objective We sought to define the qualities and teaching techniques that learners interested in internal medicine value in resident teachers. Methods We created and administered a resident-as-teacher traits survey to senior medical students from 6 medical schools attending a resident-facilitated clinical conference at McMaster University. The survey collected data on student preferences of techniques employed by resident teachers and qualities of a successful resident teacher. Results Of 90 student participants, 80 (89%) responded. Respondents found the use of clinical examples (78%, 62 of 80) and repetition of core concepts (71%, 58 of 80) highly useful. In contrast, most respondents did not perceive giving feedback to residents, or receiving feedback from residents, was useful to their learning. With respect to resident qualities, respondents felt that a strong knowledge base (80%, 64 of 80) and tailoring teaching to the learner's level (83%, 66 of 80) was highly important. In contrast, high expectations on the part of resident supervisors were not valued. Conclusions This multicenter survey provides insight into the perceptions of medical students interested in internal medicine on the techniques and qualities that characterize successful resident teachers. The findings may be useful in the future development of resident-as-teacher curricula.

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Couple relationship problems—a task for the general practitioner? A cross-sectional survey from Norway

Family Practice ◽

10.1093/fampra/cmaa093 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Siri Dalsmo Berge ◽

Eivind Meland ◽

Mette Brekke ◽

Gunnar Tschudi Bondevik ◽

Frode Thuen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Practice ◽

General Practitioner ◽

Regression Models ◽

Good Health ◽

Couple Relationship ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Relationship Problems ◽

Logistic Regression Models ◽

General Practices

Abstract Background A healthy couple relationship is a predictor of good health. There is a lack of knowledge about what role family and couples counselling should have in general practice. Objectives To identify the prevalence of patients who have talked, or want to talk, with their general practitioner (GP) about their couple relationship, to investigate what characterizes these patients and to explore whether they believe that couple relationship problems should be dealt with in general practice. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 70 general practices in Norway during spring 2019. A questionnaire was answered by 2178 consecutive patients (response rate 75%) in GP waiting rooms. Data were examined using frequencies and linear and logistic regression models. Results We included 2097 responses. Mean age was 49.0 years and 61.3% were women. One in four (25.0%) had already talked with their GP about couple relationship problems, while one in three (33.5%) wanted to talk with their GP about their couple relationship problems. These patients more frequently had experience of divorce, poor self-rated health, an opinion that their couple relationship had a significant impact on their health and lower couple relationship quality when adjusted for age, sex, present marital status and children living at home. We found that 46.4% of patients believed that GPs should be interested in their couple relationship problems. Conclusion Relationship problems are frequently addressed in general practice. GPs should be prepared to discuss this issue to facilitate help for couples earlier than they might otherwise expect.

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