Extending a Conceptual Framework for Junior Doctors’ Career Decision Making and Rural Careers: Explorers versus Planners and Finding the ‘Right Fit’

This study uses data from a Rural Clinical School of Western Australia (RCSWA) and WA Country Health (WACHS) study on rural work intentions among junior doctors to explore their internal decision-making processes and gain a better understanding of how junior doctors make decisions along their career pathway. This was a qualitative study involving junior doctor participants in postgraduate years (PGY) 1 to 5 undergoing training in Western Australia (WA). Data was collected through semi-structured telephone interviews. Two main themes were identified: career decision-making as an on-going process; and early career doctors’ internal decision-making process, which fell broadly into two groups (‘explorers’ and ‘planners’). Both groups of junior doctors require ongoing personalised career advice, training pathways, and career development opportunities that best “fit” their internal decision-making processes for the purposes of enhancing rural workforce outcomes.

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Understanding the Factors Influencing Junior Doctors’ Career Decision-Making to Address Rural Workforce Issues: Testing a Conceptual Framework

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17020537 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 537 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Beatriz Cuesta-Briand ◽

Mathew Coleman ◽

Rebekah Ledingham ◽

Sarah Moore ◽

Helen Wright ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Strong Association ◽

Career Decision ◽

Early Career ◽

Rural Practice ◽

Junior Doctors ◽

Career Decision Making ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

The Individual ◽

Rural Work

Medical graduates’ early career is known to be disorienting, and career decision-making is influenced by a complex set of factors. There is a strong association between rural background and rural undergraduate training and rural practice, and personal and family factors have been shown to influence workplace location, but the interaction between interest, training availability, and other work-relevant factors has not yet been fully explored. A qualitative study conducted by the Rural Clinical School of Western Australia (RCSWA) and WA Country Health Service (WACHS) explored factors influencing the decision to pursue rural work among junior doctors. Data collection and analysis was iterative. In total, 21 junior doctors were recruited to participate in semi-structured telephone interviews. Two main themes relating to the systems of influence on career decision-making emerged: (1) The importance of place and people, and (2) the broader context. We found that career decision-making among junior doctors is influenced by a complex web of factors operating at different levels. As Australia faces the challenge of developing a sustainable rural health workforce, developing innovative, flexible strategies that are responsive to the individual aspirations of its workforce whilst still meeting its healthcare service delivery needs will provide a way forward.

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Childhood Environmental Adversity and Career Decision-Making Difficulty: A Life History Theory Perspective

Journal of Career Assessment ◽

10.1177/1069072720940978 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 106907272094097

Author(s):

Hui Xu

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Life History ◽

Emerging Adulthood ◽

Life History Theory ◽

Ambiguity Aversion ◽

Career Decision ◽

Early Career ◽

Career Decision Making ◽

Childhood Poverty ◽

Career Interventions

Although research has examined and supported the role of environmental adversity in career decision-making, little is known about the prediction power of childhood environmental adversity for career decision-making. To provide guidance for early career interventions, particularly in disadvantaged populations, the current study drew on life history theory and used a sample of U.S. college students ( n = 310) and a sample of U.S. noncollege individuals during emerging adulthood ( n = 308) to examine a mediation model involving childhood unpredictability, childhood poverty, career decision ambiguity aversion, and career decision-making difficulty. The results support the mediation of ambiguity aversion in the positive predictions of childhood unpredictability for all four factors of career decision-making difficulty. However, the results do not support the indirect predictions of childhood poverty for all four factors of career decision-making difficulty through ambiguity aversion but support the direct prediction of childhood poverty for lack of readiness. Therefore, the current study illuminates the importance of a predictable family environment during childhood for career decision-making during emerging adulthood and provides implications for the validity of life history theory in career decision-making, the development of ambiguity aversion, and early career interventions. Implications and future directions of research regarding childhood poverty are also discussed.

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Does conformity occur during students' decision making for their careers?

Asian Journal of Assessment in Teaching and Learning ◽

10.37134/ajatel.vol10.1.1.2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Putri Fathia Fadilla ◽

Sri Muliati Abdullah ◽

Mingchang Wu

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Career Development ◽

Research Methods ◽

Quantitative Research ◽

Career Decision ◽

Career Decision Making ◽

Quantitative Research Methods ◽

The Right ◽

Effective Contribution

Students between ages 13 to 18 years old are exposed to have career development assignments of life focused on the education field such as choosing majors or career fields. Students see career decision making is always accompanied by feelings of doubt, uncertainty, and even stress. In the end, students make their choice on careers by just following the decisions of their peers, which is not necessarily the right decision for them. Their decision taken can lead to career success. The purpose of this study to determine the effect of the conformity of students' decision making for their careers. The quantitative research methods are used where the samples are 136 students of class XII. Data are obtained from the Likert scale instrument and analyzed using regression analysis. The result shows there is influence between conformity and students’ decision making for their career. The findings of the research are the categorization score of conformity is in high category with 60.29%, while the variable of career decision making is in the low category with 54.41%. Thus, the coefficient value is -0.573 (p<0.01) with an effective contribution of 32.9% and the remaining is 67.1% is determined by other variables, which are not considered in this research. This shows that the higher of conformity, so the lower of career decision making in the class XII students. Hence, this study is essential to provide a view on the importance of career decision making abilities that will affect the students' future.

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