Motives  for  choosing  a  medical  specialty  in  the  Physician  2008  study  (II)

In   the   Physician   2008   study,   male   doctors   more   often   preferred   operative   medical   specialties  compared  to  females  (Table  9).  On  the  other  hand,  female  doctors  chose  general   practice   and   psychiatric   specialties   more   often   compared   to   males.   In   non-­‐‑operative   specialties,  the  proportions  were  relatively  similar.  

Operative   and   non-­‐‑operative   medical   specialties   were   more   popular   in   younger   compared  to  older  age  groups  (Table  10).  On  the  other  hand,  the  oldest  medical  doctors  had   more  often  chosen  a  psychiatric  specialty  and  general  practice  compared  to  the  youngest   doctors.  In  diagnostic  specialties,  the  differences  between  age  groups  were  rather  small.  

In  the  Physician  2008  study,  Diversity  of  work  was  the  most  significant  motive  in  medical   doctors'ʹ  choices  of  specialty,  followed  by  Good  prospects  of  employment,  Positive  experiences  in   the   specialty   during   undergraduate   training   and  Good   example   set   by   colleagues   (Table   11).  

Altogether,  29%  of  respondents  replied  that  they  had  chosen  their  specialty  By  chance.  The   Opportunity   to   carry   out   research   and  High   quality   specialization   programmes   were   the   least   frequently  selected  motives  for  the  choice  of  specialty.  

There   were   some   significant   differences   between   genders   (Table   11).  Opportunities   for   career   development,  Opportunity   to   gain   a   good   income   and  Opportunity   to   carry   out   research   were   significantly   more   important   motives   for   males   compared   to   females.   On   the   other   hand,  Reasonable  on-­‐‑call  load  was  a  significantly  more  important  motive  for  females.    

When   examining   differences   in   motives   between   medical   doctors   in   different   age   groups,  Diversity   of   work,  Positive   experiences   in   the   specialty   during   undergraduate   training,   Good  example  set  by  the  colleagues  in  the  specialty,  Reasonable  on-­‐‑call  load,  Opportunities  for  career   development  and  High-­‐‑quality  specialization  programme  were  all  significantly  more  important   motives   for   the   youngest   age   group   when   choosing   a   specialty   (Table   12).   On   the   other   hand,  By  chance  was  less  important  for  the  youngest  age  group  compared  to  others.  There   was  no  significant  difference  between  groups  in  Opportunity  to  gain  a  good  income.    

When   examining   the   answers   from   medical   doctors   in   different   groups   of   medical   specialties,  several  differences  emerged  (Figure  6).  Diversity  of  work  was  the  most  important   motive   for   medical   doctors   in   most   of   the   groups   when   choosing   a   specialty,   doctors   in   diagnostic  specialties  being  the  only  exception.  Of  the  doctors  in  diagnostic  specialties  the   most   important   motive   was   Reasonable   on-­‐‑call   load.   It   was   also   a   significantly   more   important  motive  for  general  practitioners  and  doctors  in  psychiatric  specialties  compared   to  those  in  operative  and  non-­‐‑operative  specialties.  Positive  experiences  in  the  specialty  during   undergraduate  training  and  Good  example  set  by  colleagues  in  the  specialty  were  more  significant   motives   for   doctors   in   operative   and   in   non-­‐‑operative   specialities   compared   to   those   in   psychiatric  specialties  and  in  general  practice.    

Of  the  other  motives,  only  4%  of  general  practitioners  thought  that  Opportunity  to  carry   out   research   was   an   important   motive   when   choosing   a   specialty,   while   39%   of   those   in   diagnostic  specialties,  27%  of  those  in  non-­‐‑operative  specialties,  17%  in  operative  specialties   and  12%  in  psychiatric  specialties  considered  this  to  be  an  important  motive.  

Table 9. Choices of specialty groups of Finnish male and female medical doctors in the Physician 2008 study. For full table please see II Table 1.

Males Females All

% % %

Operative specialties 31 24 26

Non-operative specialties 28 28 28

Diagnostic specialties 10 7 8

Psychiatric specialties 10 14 12

General practice 22 28 26

Table 10. Choices of medical specialty groups in different age groups in the Physician 2008 study. For full table please see II Table 2.

Age Under 35 35–44 45–54 55 and older

% % % %

Operative specialties 33 26 25 23

Non-operative specialties 31 31 26 24

Diagnostic specialties 8 7 8 9

Psychiatric specialties 5 11 14 18

General practice 23 25 28 27

Table 11. Proportions (%) of male and female respondents and differences in proportions (%-units) who answered Considerably or Very much to the question: If you are a specialist or specializing, to what extent did the following items affect your choice of specialty? in the Physician 2008 study. The items are sorted according to the differences between genders. For full table please see II Table 3.

All doctors Males Females Difference

% % % %-units

Opportunities for career development 25 33 21 12

Opportunity to gain a good income 29 34 27 7

Opportunity to carry out research 18 22 15 7

Positive experiences in the specialty during my

undergraduate training 44 48 43 5

Good example set by colleagues in the specialty 42 45 41 4 Opportunities to work in the private sector 27 30 26 4

Good prospects of employment 47 49 46 3

High-quality specialization programme 15 15 14 1

By chance 29 28 29 -1

Diversity of work 76 75 77 -2

Reasonable on-call load 38 32 42 -10

Note. Motives where the difference is statistically significant (p <0.05) are in bold.  

Table 12. Proportions of respondents in different age groups who answered Considerably or Very much to the question: If you are a specialist or specializing, to what extent did the following items affect your choice of specialty? in the Physician 2008 study. The items are sorted according the answers of the youngest age group. For full table please see II Table 4.

Age Under 35 35–44 45–54 Over 54

% % % %

Diversity of work 84 75 75 74

Positive experiences in the specialty during my

undergraduate training 52 43 43 44

Good prospects of employment 52 46 46 48

Good example set by colleagues in the specialty 48 45 39 37

Reasonable on-call load 43 42 35 33

Opportunities for career development 39 23 22 25

Opportunity to gain a good income 33 29 29 30

Opportunities to work in the private sector 33 27 25 28

High-quality specialization programme 21 15 12 14

By chance 20 29 33 26

Opportunity to carry out research 19 18 17 18

Note. Motives where the differences are statistically significant (p <0.05) are in bold.  

  Figure 6. Proportions (%) of respondents in the Physician 2008 study in different specialty groups who answered Considerably or Very much to the question: If you are a specialist or specializing, to what extent did the following items affect your choice of specialty? The six most frequently chosen items.

    Opportunity to gain a good income

Reasonable on-call load Good example set by colleagues in the specialty Positive experiences in the specialty during my undergraduate training

6.2.2  Motives  for  and  satisfaction  with  the  choice  of  a  medical  specialty  in  the  Physician