Demographic characteristics of doctors who intend to follow clinical academic careers: UK national questionnaire surveys

Abstract

ObjectivesIt is well recognised that women are underrepresented in clinical academic posts. Our aim was to determine which of a number of characteristics—notably gender, but also ethnicity, possession of an intercalated degree, medical school attended, choice of specialty—were predictive of doctors’ intentions to follow clinical academic careers.DesignQuestionnaires to all UK-trained medical graduates of 2005 sent in 2006 and again in 2010, graduates of 2009 in 2010 and graduates of 2012 in 2013.ResultsAt the end of their first year of medical work, 13.5% (368/2732) of men and 7.3% (358/4891) of women specified that they intended to apply for a clinical academic training post; and 6.0% (172/2873) of men and 2.2% (111/5044) of women specified that they intended to pursue clinical academic medicine as their eventual career. A higher percentage of Asian (4.8%) than White doctors (3.3%) wanted a long-term career as a clinical academic, as did a higher percentage of doctors who did an intercalated degree (5.6%) than others (2.2%) and a higher percentage of Oxbridge graduates (8.1%) than others (2.8%). Of the graduates of 2005, only 30% of those who in 2006 intended a clinical medicine career also did so when re-surveyed in 2010 (men 44%, women 12%).ConclusionsThere are noteworthy differences by gender and other demographic factors in doctors’ intentions to pursue academic training and careers. The gap between men and women in aspirations for a clinical academic career is present as early as the first year after qualification.

What factors are critical to attracting NHS foundation doctors into specialty or core training? A discrete choice experiment

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The Uk Academic Foundation Programmes: Are the Objectives Being Met?

“…Of our respondents, three quarters wanted to continue to a career in academia; this is consistent with previous research of interest in academia among early years trainees. 4,[27][28][29] A quarter of respondents had secured clinical academic fellowships following the AFP; interestingly however, 63% suggested that the AFP had no infl uence on their career decision, highlighting that other factors that the survey did not capture are playing a role. Greenberg et al have reported that factors such as participation in research and mentorship, which the AFP provides, play key roles in leading medical students into an academic career, but also considerations such as the amount of debt accumulated prior to medical school and professional aspects of academia play important roles.…”

An Analysis of Medical Students’ Attitude and Motivation in Pursuing an Intercalated MSc in Clinical Anatomy

“…Students' satisfaction was assessed using eleven items in Table 5 (1-11), whilst three items assessed their attention (12)(13)(14). Students enrolled in the iMSc in Clinical Anatomy were more satisfied with their programme than the students enrolled in the iBSc in Medical Science.…”

“…With regard to assessing attention in Table 5, two out of three items (12)(13)(14) were in favour of the iMSc in Clinical Anatomy programme.…”

“…It was noticed that over the past years, the number of medical students who have chosen to do an intercalated degree has been continuously decreasing despite the advantages in securing foundation posts [11]. In the UK and Ireland, data suggests that only a small percent of students graduating with an intercalated degree annually across all specialties go on to do surgical training; however, those that do, preserve an interest in laboratorybased academic surgery [12][13][14].…”