TY - JOUR
T1 - The variable influence of lifestyle and income on medical students' career specialty choices
T2 - Data from two U.S. medical schools, 1998-2004
AU - Newton, Dale A.
AU - Grayson, Martha S.
AU - Thompson, Lori Foster
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2005/9
Y1 - 2005/9
N2 - Purpose: Recent reports on medical students' career choices suggest that lifestyle increasingly influences career decisions. The authors addressed the changing influence of lifestyle and income on career choice, how these influences differ by specialty, and the specific careers students identify as lifestyle friendly. Method: From 1998 to 2004, 1,334 (73%) fourth-year medical students from Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University (no. = 485 graduates) and New York Medical College (no. = 1,348 graduates) completed a questionnaire that addressed career specialty preferences, as well as income and lifestyle concerns. Students were asked to rate career choice influences on a four-point scale (1 = no influence, 4 = major influence). Factor analysis of these influences identified seven factors including one each for lifestyle and income. Results: A total of 1,327 students indicated a career preference. Lifestyle (p = .018) and income (p = .011) were found to increasingly influence medical students' career choices during the study period. Overall, the authors found significant differences between specialties in the relative contribution of these factors. Students' perceptions of specialties existed on a continuum of lifestyle friendly (e.g., radiology) to lifestyle unfriendly (e.g., obstetrics-gynecology). Contrary to previous reports, the students' responses indicate they perceived the primary care specialties as lifestyle intermediate compared to other specialties. Conclusions: Lifestyle and income have become more important to medical students in their career choice, and the relative influence of these factors varies considerably between specialties. This study suggests that previous efforts to dichotomize careers into those with controllable and uncontrollable lifestyles may mask important complexities.
AB - Purpose: Recent reports on medical students' career choices suggest that lifestyle increasingly influences career decisions. The authors addressed the changing influence of lifestyle and income on career choice, how these influences differ by specialty, and the specific careers students identify as lifestyle friendly. Method: From 1998 to 2004, 1,334 (73%) fourth-year medical students from Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University (no. = 485 graduates) and New York Medical College (no. = 1,348 graduates) completed a questionnaire that addressed career specialty preferences, as well as income and lifestyle concerns. Students were asked to rate career choice influences on a four-point scale (1 = no influence, 4 = major influence). Factor analysis of these influences identified seven factors including one each for lifestyle and income. Results: A total of 1,327 students indicated a career preference. Lifestyle (p = .018) and income (p = .011) were found to increasingly influence medical students' career choices during the study period. Overall, the authors found significant differences between specialties in the relative contribution of these factors. Students' perceptions of specialties existed on a continuum of lifestyle friendly (e.g., radiology) to lifestyle unfriendly (e.g., obstetrics-gynecology). Contrary to previous reports, the students' responses indicate they perceived the primary care specialties as lifestyle intermediate compared to other specialties. Conclusions: Lifestyle and income have become more important to medical students in their career choice, and the relative influence of these factors varies considerably between specialties. This study suggests that previous efforts to dichotomize careers into those with controllable and uncontrollable lifestyles may mask important complexities.
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U2 - 10.1097/00001888-200509000-00005
DO - 10.1097/00001888-200509000-00005
M3 - Article
C2 - 16123458
AN - SCOPUS:24144492654
SN - 1040-2446
VL - 80
SP - 809
EP - 814
JO - Academic Medicine
JF - Academic Medicine
IS - 9
ER -