Document Detail


If not, why not? Reasons why Canadian postgraduate trainees chose--or did not choose--to become pathologists.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20004951     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Pathology has been frequently identified in the literature as an unpopular choice for medical students. For many years, there have been predictions that this unpopularity would lead to inadequate pathologist numbers, which would in turn contribute to poor quality patient care. In Canada, the predicted crisis has become a reality: after a high-profile failure of laboratory quality, a public inquiry reported that poor pathology recruitment was partially responsible and recommended that medical schools take steps to make pathology more attractive to medical students. There are several published studies into pathology recruitment, but none has asked nonpathology residents why they did not choose pathology. This study uses qualitative techniques to investigate why pathology residents chose to specialize in pathology and why clinical residents rejected a pathology career. Pathology residents across Canada were surveyed, as were clinical (nonpathology) residents in every residency training program at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Pathology residents overwhelmingly cited various attractive features of pathology practice, including its academic nature, the opportunity to explore basic pathogenesis, and its interesting and varied daily work. Most clinical residents rejected pathology because they preferred direct patient contact; however, a sizable minority blamed insufficient or inadequate medical school experiences in pathology. Clinical residents also cited several misconceptions and stereotypes about pathology, including misunderstandings about the role of pathologists and the nature of pathology practice. The reasons why clinical residents rejected pathology careers may provide guidance in improving pathology recruitment of medical students.
Authors:
Jason C Ford
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article     Date:  2009-12-11
Journal Detail:
Title:  Human pathology     Volume:  41     ISSN:  1532-8392     ISO Abbreviation:  Hum. Pathol.     Publication Date:  2010 Apr 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-03-15     Completed Date:  2010-03-31     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9421547     Medline TA:  Hum Pathol     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  566-73     Citation Subset:  IM    
Copyright Information:
Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc.
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, BC Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6H 3N1. jford@cw.bc.ca
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Canada
Career Choice*
Humans
Internship and Residency*
Pathology, Clinical / education*
Qualitative Research

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


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