Medical students’ and prospective medical students’ uncertainties about career intentions: Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies

Figures & data

Table

Practice points

This study showed that many medical students remained uncertain about their career intentions throughout medical school. Only 18% and 9–15% of prospective and junior medical students, respectively, intended entering general practice (which might associate with altruism), despite its being the main ultimate destination; and significant change away from general practice occurred even before formal clinical contact. Lower socioeconomic status apparently associated with prospective students specifying a career intention rather than reporting uncertainty.

Box 1. Questionnaire surveys about career intentions of Liverpool medical students: The timing of the seven surveys

Table 1a –c. Questionnaire surveys about career intentions of Liverpool medical students (1999 and 2001 entrants: At start and end of Year 1; and mid-Year 3 for 1999 cohort); and candidates on interview days (2001–2002) and mid-Year 5 (for this 2002 cohort): number (percentage)

Box 2. Questionnaire surveys about career intentions of Liverpool medical students (mid-Year 5, 2006–2007): Comments from 18 of the 23 responders intending to be a hospital consultant, not otherwise specified (n = 14), or specifying more than one specialty (n = 4): ‘I favour this [career intention] because …’

• ‘Can focus on area of particular interest, treating pts first hand’

• ‘I have really enjoyed all of my hospital rotations + enjoy working in a hospital clinical environment’

• ‘I am interested in obs + gynae and also cardio-respiratory medicine. Also I really liked A + E – it is hard to decide now!’

• ‘I don’t like GP. I like the busyness [sic] of hospital medicine and also the more social aspect - more people - staff + patients’

• ‘I enjoy hospital atmosphere, the pressure + ‘buzz’ of the job’

• ‘I feel it is important to specialise in a field you [sic] most comfortable with’

• ‘I have enjoyed my attachments in these areas greatly. There's always a new challange [sic] & a plethora of information to learn’ [specified: ‘A&E or OBS + GYNAE’]

• ‘I have had the best medical experience in this’

• ‘I like acute medicine’

• ‘I like the fact there are many specialities [sic] in hospital medicine’

• ‘I like the structure of lots of firms working both independently and together’

• ‘I prefer the hospital atmosphere and patient interaction’

• ‘I prefer to be a doer rather than a thinker. I like to be at the heart of things, busy and part of a team’

• ‘It's always change [sic]. I like to have specialist knowledge and do research.’ [specified: ‘Haematology or Paediatrics’]

• ‘More interesting/challenging intellectual, more acute medicine’

• ‘Of the opportunites [sic] to conduct my own research’

• ‘variety of patients and depth of knowledge’

• ‘Variety, acute nature of cases’ [specified: ‘Trauma & Orthopaedics or A&E or Anaesthetics’]