Document Detail


Determinants of choosing a career in family medicine.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20974721     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
BACKGROUND: Student choice is an important determinant of the distribution of specialties of practising physicians in many countries. Understanding characteristics at entry into medical school that are associated with the choice of residency in family medicine can assist medical schools in admitting an appropriate mix of students to serve the health care needs of their regions.
METHODS: From 2002 to 2004, we collected data from students in 15 classes at 8 of 16 Canadian medical schools at entry. Surveys included questions on career choice, attitudes to practice and socio-demographic characteristics. We followed students prospectively with these data linked to their residency choice. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to identify entry characteristics that predicted a student's ultimate career choice in family medicine.
RESULTS: Of 1941 eligible students in the participating classes, 1542 (79.4%) contributed data to the final analyses. The following 11 entry variables predicted whether a student named family medicine as his or her top residency choice: being older, being engaged or in a long-term relationship, not having parents with postgraduate university education nor having family or close friends practicing medicine, having undertaken voluntary work in a developing nation, not volunteering with elderly people, desire for varied scope of practice, a societal orientation, a lower interest in research, desire for short postgraduate training, and lower preference for medical versus social problems.
INTERPRETATION: Demographic and attitudinal characteristics at entry into medical school predicted whether students chose a career in family medicine.
Authors:
Ian Scott; Margot Gowans; Bruce Wright; Fraser Brenneis; Sandra Banner; Jim Boone
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2010-10-25
Journal Detail:
Title:  CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne     Volume:  183     ISSN:  1488-2329     ISO Abbreviation:  CMAJ     Publication Date:  2011 Jan 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-01-11     Completed Date:  2011-02-24     Revised Date:  2011-12-30    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9711805     Medline TA:  CMAJ     Country:  Canada    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  E1-8     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. ianscott@interchange.ubc.ca
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Attitude of Health Personnel*
Canada
Career Choice*
Family Practice*
Female
Humans
Internship and Residency*
Life Style
Logistic Models
Male
Questionnaires
Socioeconomic Factors
Young Adult
Comments/Corrections
Comment In:
CMAJ. 2011 Nov 22;183(17):2017   [PMID:  22106108 ]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Effect of erythropoietin levels on mortality in old age: the Leiden 85-plus Study.
Next Document:  Lichen sclerosus in a radiated breast.