A primer of an in-depth resilience status for German medical graduates: results of a cross-sectional survey on the status quo of resilience among graduates of human medicine in Bavaria, Germany - a necessary step in building an emotionally equipped healthcare work-force

Background Resilience is a widely-used catchword in the last couple of years to describe the resistance to psychological strains of life, especially for the healthcare work-force. The promises of resilience to burnout sound great and what we all would want: less health impairment despite stress, higher work satisfaction and last but not least higher work performance. There is research that shows that students and physicians have high emotional distress and low resilience, yet comparably little is known which aspects of resilience are exactly impaired in the upcoming work-force. With our study we investigated the in-depth resilience status of medical graduates from five medical schools within their first year after graduation. In this, additionally to assessing the resilience status as a whole we investigate the answers on the singular items and the relationship of the resilience status with neighboring constructs. Methods In 2018, 1610 human medical graduates from five Bavarian medical schools were asked to take part at cross-sectional Bavarian graduate survey (Bayerische Absolventenstudie Medizin, MediBAS). The response rate was 38,07, 60% of the participants were female. For the identification of the in-depth resilience status we included the 5-point Likert 10-Item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, German Version in a graduate survey posted to 5 medical schools and over 1610 eligible participants of whom 610 (60% female) filled out at least parts of the survey. To identify relationships to other aspects we posed further questionnaires. Results The resilience status showed a mean resilience score of M = 37.1 (SD = 6.30). The score ranges from 3.22 (I am not easily discouraged by failure) to 4.26 (I am able to adapt to change). One third of the participants chose not to answer the item “I am able to handle unpleasant feeling”. Relationships to job satisfaction, scientific competence and stress are presented in the article. Conclusions The study shows that the overall resilience status of medical graduates one year after their graduation is rather high, but subjectively they do not feel equivalently resilient for the different aspects they face in their job. Especially, how to handle their emotions seems to be challenging for some of the young physicians. In the article we sketch ideas how to handle the specific training needs the study has identified.

HIV Care by Early-Career Family Physicians

Background and Objectives: Antiretroviral treatment has transformed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection into a chronic disease. Prior research demonstrated a discrepancy between preparation to provide HIV care and current provision among recent residency graduates. Our study aimed to describe characteristics related to preparedness and provision of HIV care, and to identify the associations between physician and practice characteristics with current provision of HIV care among those prepared. Methods: We obtained data from the 2016 through 2019 American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) National Family Medicine Graduate Survey. Our main outcome was self-reported provision of HIV care. Bivariate statistics compared differences in personal and practice characteristics with self-reported preparation for HIV care, then among those prepared, provision of HIV care. We used logistic regression to determine associations between HIV care, among those prepared, with practice and personal characteristics. Results: The response rate was 68.7% and our final sample size was 6,740 respondents. Only 25% of respondents reported preparedness in residency, and 44% of them reported current provision. Among those prepared, female gender (OR=0.604; 95% CI, 0.494-0.739) was associated with lower odds of practicing HIV care. Those working in high HIV prevalence areas (OR=1.718; 95% CI, 1.259-2.344) and in Northeast census region (OR=1.557; 95% CI, 1.137-2.132) had higher odds of providing HIV care. Conclusions: Fewer than half of those prepared in residency reported currently providing HIV care. Working in a high HIV prevalence area was associated with higher odds of providing HIV care, which suggests early-career family physicians are responding to community needs.

What Do Public Health Graduates Do and Where Do They Go? An Analysis of Job Destinations and Mismatch in Australian Public Health Graduates

Background: It is not well understood what occupations public health graduates have after graduation, nor is it well known whether their education provides them with the relevant knowledge and skills to feel well matched to their occupations. Furthermore, it is commonly presumed that public health graduates work in government, and investments in education would bolster this workforce. Methods: We aimed to describe the common occupations of Australian public health graduates, describe the heterogeneity of graduate destinations, describe the level of mismatch that graduates report, and compare these results with other fields of study. We used eight years of Australian graduate survey data (2008–2015) from the Graduate Destinations Survey, examining outcomes data from 8900 public health graduates from four levels of education. We compared occupation and industry heterogeneity, and level of occupational mismatch between public health graduates, and graduates from other fields of education. Results: Public health graduates report having a broad set of occupations in a broad set of industries after graduation, and this breadth is dissimilar to most health degrees. Furthermore, public health graduates tend to have average or lower-than-average rates of mismatch. Conclusions: Despite going into a broad set of occupations and industries, graduates from public health tend to report being well prepared given their education. Given that both occupation and industry outcomes are heterogeneous for graduates, an investment in public health education does not guarantee an increase in the governmental public health workforce.

Professional Identity of Industrial-Organizational Psychology Master’s Graduates

This chapter discusses the professional identity of master’s industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology graduates. Implications for licensure within I-O psychology are reviewed. An important distinction is made between licensing and certification/credentialing, as well as an argument that establishing an I-O psychology certification process may be a viable means to maintain professional identity/brand and to encourage consistent graduate training in the field. Graduate Survey results are presented to highlight the benefits of professional organization memberships. The majority of I-O master’s graduates were members of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) as graduate students; however, far fewer attend the SIOP annual conference regularly. Suggestions are provided for developing the professional identity of master’s I-O psychology graduates in the future.

Job search strategies of recent university graduates: prevalence and effectiveness

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to analyse the prevalence and effectiveness of methods and strategies for job searches amongst recent graduates of Russian universities.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical analysis is carried out on data from the Russian Graduate Survey 2016, which is representative of individuals graduating during 2010–2015. The sample included 12,370 individuals. The empirical approach combined standard descriptive statistics, factor and regression analysis (multiple logit regression).FindingsResults show that the most common strategies are a combined strategy that involves the use of formal and informal methods, as well as “pure” informal strategies – applying to relatives and friends or contacting employers. The most effective strategies are job searches with the help of relatives and friends, by contacting employers and with the help of educational organisations. The choice of job search strategy is determined by the expected return in terms of the likelihood of finding a job.Practical implicationsThe paper increases understanding of graduate job search behaviour. The results can be used by multiple stakeholders in higher education to better prepare students for job seeking.Originality/valueThis research, based on a large field survey of recent university graduates, provides the first estimates of use of job search strategies and their effectiveness for Russian university graduates.

A primer in resilience status for German medical graduates - a necessary step in building an emotionally equipped healthcare workforce

BackgroundResilience is a widely-used catchword in the last couple of years to describe the resistance to psychological strains of life, especially for the healthcare work force. The promises of resilience to burnout sound great and what we all would want: less health impairment despite stress, higher work satisfaction and last but not least higher work performance. However, little is known scientifically regarding the resilience status of the upcoming work-force. With our study we would like to investigate the resilience status of medical graduates from five medical schools within their first year after graduation. MethodsFor the identification of the resilience status we included the 5-point Likert 10-Item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, German Version in a graduate survey posted to 5 medical schools and over 1610 eligible participants of whom 610 (60% female) filled out at least parts of the survey. ResultsThe resilience status showed a mean resilience score of M = 37.1 (SD = 6.30). The score ranges from 3.22 (I am not easily discouraged by failure) to 4.26 (I am able to adapt to change). The item “I am able to handle unpleasant feeling” is interesting as one third of the participants did choose not to answer. Relationships to other constructs are presented in the article. ConclusionsThe study shows that the overall resilience status of medical graduates one year after their graduation is rather high, but subjectively they do not feel equivalently resilient for the different aspects they face in their job. Further research needs to see how trainings can provide medical students and professionals with the emotional coping skills that they lack in the moment.

Newly graduate engineers’ development of expertise and personal competencies

This paper investigates importance and development of expertise and personal competencies of newly graduated engineers according to academic staff members, industrial employers and the graduated engineers themselves. The aim was to discover how graduated engineers perceive the importance of competencies at the time of graduation, and how various competencies have developed during their studies. For such purposes, a national-wide graduate survey was adopted as a basis for research. The results show that engineering degree programmes highlight theoretical foundation rather than generic competencies, whereas industrial employers favor personal competencies and attitudinal factors. Furthermore, according to graduates’ ratings, some competencies have developed more than appears to be necessary at the beginning of their career. These competencies were the most valued in degree programmes. Similarly, some competencies that were least valued in degree programmes were part of the least developed competencies in studies, but also part of the most important competencies for graduates.

Does Community- or University-Based Residency Sponsorship Affect Graduate Perceived Preparation or Performance?

ABSTRACT Background Residency training occurs in varied settings. Whether there are differences in the training received by graduates of community- or medical school–based programs has been the subject of debate. Objective This study examined the perceived preparation for practice, scope of practice, and American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) board examination pass rates of family physicians in relation to the type of residency program (community, medical school, or partnership) in which they trained. Methods Predetermined survey responses were abstracted from the 2016 and 2017 National Family Medicine Graduate Survey of ABFM and linked to data about residency programs obtained from the websites of national organizations. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data and logistic regression to examine differences between survey results based on type of residency training: community, medical school, or partnership. Results Differences in the perception of preparation as well as current scope of practice were noted for the 3 residency types. The differences in perception were mainly noted in hospital-based skills, such as intubation and ventilator management, and in women's health and family planning services, with different program types increasing preparedness perception in different domains. Conclusions In general, graduates of family medicine community-based, non-affiliated, and partnership programs perceived they were prepared for and were providing more of the services queried in the survey than graduates of medical school–based programs.