Trends in junior doctors' certainty about their career choice of eventual clinical specialty: UK surveys

Abstract

Levels of confidence about early choice of specialty are now higher than they were prior to the 2005 changes to postgraduate training.

A survey of how and why medical students and junior doctors choose a career in ENT surgery

“…Even amongst those taught ENT in medical school, many students do not understand what the specialty comprises, with one-third not aware that head and neck surgery is part of the specialty 22 . Previous surveys from the UK have shown that 76 per cent of all doctors, and 90 per cent of those successfully pursuing a surgical career, had decided upon a probable career choice within a year of qualification, 23 , 24 but many choosing to pursue a career in ENT decide this only later in post-graduate training 25 . Competition for ENT training posts in the UK remains high, with ratios at national selection for ENT currently at 5:1 to 3:1 (Health Education England, personal communication), but the lack of universal or systematic exposure to ENT in undergraduate or post-graduate training means that these ratios may nevertheless be artificially low.…”

Study protocol - Ascertaining the career Intentions of UK Medical Students (AIMS) post-graduation: a cross-sectional survey

“…While there have been: i) studies exploring which specialties junior doctors or medical students intend on pursuing (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18), ii) studies which focused on career intentions of those pursuing one specialty or exploring factors that attract them to one specific specialty (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35), iii) studies specifically focused on reasons why doctors are leaving the UK (36, 37, 38, 39, 40), iv) studies exploring how medical students and junior doctors feel about specific aspects of working within the NHS (41, 42, 43, 44), v) studies investigating the desire for a career break post-foundation year 2 (also known as the ‘F3’) (45, 46, 47), there have been no recent, high-powered studies explicitly aimed at medical students, irrespective of current career ambitions or seniority, investigating overall career intentions and correlating it with demographic factors and medical student seniority. There has been one similar study, although focusing entirely on medical students and their intentions to leave the NHS, which is limited by its low power and lack of subanalysis regarding student seniority and demographic factor (48).…”

Medical students’ attitudes towards general practice and factors affecting career choice: a questionnaire study

“…1 Medical students' opinions are particularly relevant as doctors are applying to specific speciality training schemes soon after qualification. 3 Doctors rejecting general practice as a speciality tended to cite reasons such as job content and too much administration. 4 One study found that junior doctors perceived general practice negatively and as a career with less clinical interest, but a better lifestyle.…”