Factors associated with the choice of general medicine as a career among Japanese medical students

Kawamoto, Ryuichi; Ninomiya, Daisuke; Kasai, Yoshio; Kusunoki, Tomo; Ohtsuka, Nobuyuki; Kumagi, Teru; Abe, Masanori

doi:10.3402/meo.v21.29448

Cited by 35 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Compared to students interested in pediatrics, those interested in family medicine rated a controllable lifestyle and working outside the hospital as important positive selection criteria, while high salaries were notably less important. This is similar to the results of Japanese medical students who rated work-life balance and rural practice as an important reasons for specializing in family medicine [24]. These results slso demonstrate that although there are many similarities and some overlap among the students inclined to pursue these two specialties, they are functionally separate populations.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Using medical specialty and selection criteria clusters to study specialty selection by Israeli medical students

et al. 2017

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BackgroundDuring their final year of medical school, Israeli students must consider which specialty to choose for residency. Based on the vocational counseling literature we presumed that choices are made by selecting from a cluster of related specialties while considering professional and socio-economic issues.MethodsQuestionnaires distributed to final-year medical students at two Israeli medical schools ascertained inclinations toward various medical specialties and the importance of various selection criteria. Analysis focused on seven specialties where >20% of students reported they had positive inclinations. For each such specialty, the specialty and selection criteria query were compared using unpaired two-tailed Student’s t-tests to determine differences between students with positive inclinations toward the specialty with those not so inclined. These data were placed in tables, with the significant differences highlighted to facilitate visual recognition of cluster patterns.ResultsCompleted questionnaires were obtained from 317 of 455 students. Students often had positive inclinations toward more than one specialty (specialty clusters) associated with a group of selection criteria (selection criteria clusters). For example, interest in internal medicine was clustered with interest in internal medicine subspecialties, cardiology and research. Furthermore, there was a “reciprocal” aspect to some specialty cluster patterns. For example, those interested in internal medicine had little interest in surgical specialties. Selection criteria clusters revealed occupational interests and socio-environmental factors associated with the specialty clusters. For example, family medicine, which clustered with pediatrics and psychiatry, had a sub-cluster of: Bedside specialty with family orientation affording long-term patient care. Another sub-cluster was time for childrearing and family, only daytime work and outpatient care. Clusters also revealed students’ perceptions that differed from expected: Cardiology is changing from a cognitive to a procedure-oriented subspecialty, clustering not only with internal medicine and its subspecialties but also with emergency medicine, surgical subspecialties and anesthesiology.ConclusionsThe concept that career choice involves selecting from a cluster of related specialties provides information about the specialties students might be considering. Moreover, students are not only looking for individual aspects of a specialty, but for a package including clusters of socio-economic and occupational features. Practically, examining clusters can help in career counseling of medical students and assist residency program directors in marketing their specialties.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-017-0854-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Using medical specialty and selection criteria clusters to study specialty selection by Israeli medical students

et al. 2017

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“…In Japan, non-controllable lifestyle specialties are general medicine/family practice, special Internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics & gynecology, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, and orthopedic surgery, and controllable lifestyle specialties are psychiatry, dermatology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, urology, and radiology [13, 16]. With regard to choice of a specialty, we [17] previously defined the following 6 factors based on the items that were grouped together: Factor 1: educational experience; Factor 2: job security; Factor 3: advice from others; Factor 4: work-life balance; Factor 5: technical and research specialty; and Factor 6: personal reasons. These 6 factors collectively accounted for 47.6 % of the variance in responses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender difference in preference of specialty as a career choice among Japanese medical students

et al. 2016

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BackgroundIn Japan, the absolute deficiency of doctors and maldistribution of doctors by specialty is a significant problem in the Japanese health care system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors contributing to specialty preference in career choice among Japanese medical students.MethodsA total of 368 medical students completed the survey giving an 88.2 % response rate. The subjects comprised 141 women aged 21 ± 3 (range, 18–34) years and 227 men aged 22 ± 4 (range, 18–44) years. Binary Logistic regression analysis was performed using specialty preferences as the criterion variable and the factors in brackets as six motivational variables (e.g., Factor 1: educational experience; Factor 2: job security; Factor 3: advice from others; Factor 4: work-life balance; Factor 5: technical and research specialty; and Factor 6: personal reasons).ResultsWomen significantly preferred pediatrics, obstetrics & gynecology, and psychology than the men. Men significantly preferred surgery and orthopedics than the women. For both genders, a high odds ratio (OR) of “technical & research specialty” and a low OR for “personal reasons” were associated with preference for surgery. “Technical & research specialty” was positively associated with preference for special internal medicine and negatively for pediatrics. “Work-life balance” was positively associated with preference for psychology and negatively for emergency medicine. Among the women only, “technical & research specialty” was negatively associated with preference for general medicine/family medicine and obstetrics & gynecology, and “job security” was positively associated for general medicine/family medicine and negatively for psychology. Among men only, “educational experience” and “personal reasons” were positively, and “job security” was negatively associated with preference for pediatrics. For both genders, “work-life balance” was positively associated with preference for controllable lifestyle specialties.ConclusionWe must acknowledge that Japanese medical students have dichotomized some motivations for their specialty preference based on gender. Systematic improvements in the working environment are necessary to solve these issues.

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“…It has been observed that medical students are more likely to become general physicians after training in communities during their undergraduate and postgraduate education. 10,11 This trend may be stronger when educational settings are in rural communities because students can experience the essence of general medicine such as patient-centered medicine, interprofessional collaboration, and community-oriented primary care. 12,13 Through these experiences, medical students may get a true sense of the importance of general physicians, which may motivate them to become general physicians.…”

Section: Backg Rou N Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Improved training in community medical institutes could be the key to increasing the number of general physicians. It has been observed that medical students are more likely to become general physicians after training in communities during their undergraduate and postgraduate education . This trend may be stronger when educational settings are in rural communities because students can experience the essence of general medicine such as patient‐centered medicine, interprofessional collaboration, and community‐oriented primary care .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students’ perceptions of general medicine following community‐based medical education in rural Japan

Ohta¹,

Ryu²,

Katsube³

et al. 2019

J of Gen and Family Med

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Background Japan's population is rapidly aging, and at the same time, the number of medical students interested in general or family medicine is declining. Community‐based medical education (CBME) programs may be used to promote interest and competencies in general medicine among medical students. Method This mixed‐method study investigated the perceptions of fifth‐ and sixth year undergraduate medical students who completed a two week CBME course in Unnan, a small city in rural Japan. The participants completed two survey questionnaires: (a) The achievement questionnaire administered pre‐ and posttraining, and (b) the curriculum content questionnaire administered posttraining. To understand the students’ perceptions about general medicine further, semistructured interviews were conducted with each participant post‐CBME training. Results The participants’ ratings on the achievement survey improved significantly from pre‐ to posttraining. The average ratings for the curriculum content survey indicated that the educational objectives were met in all but one area. A qualitative analysis of the interview data revealed that the participants had little exposure to general medicine at their university hospital, and there was a lack of understanding in other medical professionals regarding the roles of general medicine physicians. Conclusion This study demonstrates that there are educational gaps between medical universities and community hospitals regarding general medicine. Increased exposure, early exposure, and a clarification of the competencies were noted as areas to improve the students’ understanding of general medicine. Undergraduates should be exposed to general medicine more frequently and from early training stages through effective collaborations between universities and hospitals.

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Factors associated with the choice of general medicine as a career among Japanese medical students

Cited by 35 publications

References 22 publications

Using medical specialty and selection criteria clusters to study specialty selection by Israeli medical students

Using medical specialty and selection criteria clusters to study specialty selection by Israeli medical students

Gender difference in preference of specialty as a career choice among Japanese medical students

Students’ perceptions of general medicine following community‐based medical education in rural Japan

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