| Postgraduates' perceptions of preparedness for work as a doctor and making future career decisions: support for rural, non-traditional medical schools. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20853241 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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INTRODUCTION: The intern year is a critical time for making career decisions and gaining confidence in clinical skills, communication and teamwork practices; this justifies an interest in junior doctors' perceptions of their level of preparedness for hospital work. This study explored Australian junior doctors' perspectives regarding the transition from student to doctor roles, their preparation as medical undergraduates within either traditional metropolitan schools or smaller, outer metropolitan-based (rural) programs such as Rural Clinical Schools (RCS), and the educational environment they experienced in their internship. METHODS: A qualitative cross-sectional design used semi-structured interviews with postgraduate year one and two junior doctors (9 females and 11 males) within teaching hospitals in Queensland Australia. Interview questions focussed on four major content areas: preparedness for hospital work, undergraduate training, building confidence and career advice. Data were analyzed using a framework method to identify and explore major themes. RESULTS: Junior doctors who spent undergraduate years training at smaller, non-traditional medical schools felt more confident and better prepared at internship. More hands-on experience as students, more patient contact and a better grounding in basic sciences were felt by interns to be ideal for building confidence. Junior doctors perceived a general lack of career guidance in both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching environments to help them with the transition from the student to junior doctor roles. DISCUSSION: Findings are congruent with studies that have confirmed student opinion on the higher quality of undergraduate medical training outside a traditional metropolitan-based program, such as a RCS. The serious shortage of doctors in rural and remote Australia makes these findings particularly relevant. It will be important to gain a better understanding of how smaller non-traditional medical programs build confidence and feelings of work readiness in graduates. Career advice should become a more regular part of the medical education continuum. |
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Authors:
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D S Eley |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Date: 2010-07-17 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Education for health (Abingdon, England) Volume: 23 ISSN: 1469-5804 ISO Abbreviation: Educ Health (Abingdon) Publication Date: 2010 Aug |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-09-20 Completed Date: 2011-01-06 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9607101 Medline TA: Educ Health (Abingdon) Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 374 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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The University of Queensland, Rural Clinical School, School of Medicine, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Adult Attitude of Health Personnel Career Choice* Clinical Competence* Cross-Sectional Studies Data Collection Education, Medical, Graduate Education, Medical, Undergraduate Female Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Humans Internship and Residency / statistics & numerical data* Male Medical Staff, Hospital / psychology Perception* Qualitative Research Queensland Rural Population / statistics & numerical data* Schools, Medical / statistics & numerical data* Self Concept |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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