Understanding the career decision making of university students enrolled in STEM disciplines

This study investigated why university students choose to major in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine/health (STEM(M)) disciplines, and how their study and career-related confidence compares with that of their peers. The study engaged 12,576 students enrolled at Australian universities. The findings suggest that STEM(M) students’ career decision making is guided by their interest in the subject and their intentions to help people. Within the STEM(M) cohort, students in medicine and health were more confident in their career decision making than either their STEM or non-STEM(M) peers. Of interest, they were less aware of alternative career pathways and less prepared to reorient their careers should this be necessary. Female students reported greater confidence than male students in their career decision making, career identity, and career commitment. Implications include the need for career narratives beyond the STEM industries and for career development initiatives that are mindful of disciplinary and gendered differences.

Professional integration of immigrant medical professionals through alternative career pathways: an Internet scan to synthesize the current landscape

Background There is a growing recognition that underutilization and underemployment of skilled immigrants, especially internationally trained health professionals, creates a financial burden on individuals and economic losses for the host country. Albeit a missed opportunity for both the immigrants and the receiving country, no public policy and systemic measures are in place to address this issue. Nevertheless, certain individuals and organizations have made some isolated efforts, but no synthesized knowledge is available for understanding what initiatives exist altogether and how they function. We have conducted a methodological Internet scan to identify the existing individual, private, and systemic initiatives and resources that support these health professionals. This will provide health and workforce policymakers, settlement service providers, and relevant academics with the knowledge base for potential different strategies to address this issue and guide them towards developing solution-oriented initiatives. Methods To identify those we have systematically searched the three most popular search engines (Google, Bing, and Yahoo!) adapting the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s grey literature review protocol. We identified relevant websites per our predefined inclusion criteria, charted the data from those sources, collated, summarized, and reported the results. Results From 280 webpages initially identified through keyword search, we included 26 in our full-page screen and extracted data from 16 finally selected webpages. We have found webpages with information on different alternative careers namely, regulated and non-regulated, available resources to pursue those careers, and what skills they have that can be transferred to the alternative careers. Conclusion More systemic policies and IMG specific and ACP-focused employment support programmes are required. Research and development of programmes for facilitating IMGs’ alternative career support need to be increased and strengthened.

Designing academic career trajectories: identifying internal assets and evaluating external challenges

When I joined the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Mid-Career Leadership Institute in 2016, I was at an academic crossroads where my motivation to pursue a research career was waning. Specifically, I was challenged in obtaining funding for my unique research focus, and by the loss of institutional mentors and sponsors. In this commentary, I describe how I utilized components of the SBM Leadership Institute, specifically executive coaching and peer mentorship, as well as introspection to identify career trajectories that align with my internal motivations, as well as acknowledge dynamics in my scholarship area and at my institution. By specifying several concrete possibilities for career advancement that are both personally meaningful and institutionally practical, I have been better able to focus my scholarly pursuits and seek out leadership positions. In general terms, the leadership institute helped me to evaluate my own internal assets (e.g., skills and passions), to critically examine trends in my area of scholarship, and to delineate alternative career pathways. In my view such periodic introspection and evaluation is critically important for maintaining a fulfilling academic career.