Career Choice (career + choice)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Emergency Medicine Career Choice: A Profile of Factors and Influences from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Graduation Questionnaires

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 6 2009
Jeremy S. Boyd
Abstract Objectives:, This study sought to account for trends in medical student specialty choice by examining the importance of lifestyle factors. Emergency medicine (EM) is among several medical specialties classified as having a "controllable lifestyle." The primary objective of this study was to determine if medical students choosing careers in EM have a different profile of influences, values, and expectations from students choosing other specialties or specialty groups. Of secondary interest was how much lifestyle influenced students choosing EM compared to students choosing controllable lifestyle (CL) specialties. Methods:, Using data from the 2005 and 2006 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) graduation questionnaire (GQ) supplemental surveys, we grouped responses according to desired specialty choice: EM (n = 963), CL (n = 3,681), primary care (PC; n = 3,191), or surgical specialty (SS; n = 1,694). The survey requires students to rate the influence of nine specific factors in determining their specialty choice: lifestyle, competitiveness, high level of educational debt, mentors and role models, options for fellowship training, salary expectations, length of residency training, family expectations, and medical school career planning activities. Using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and nonparametric statistics, we assessed responses among the four subgroups for differences in the importance attributed to these factors. Results:, A total of 13,440 students completed the two supplemental surveys of the GQ. Of these students, 9,529 identified a specialty choice that fell within one of the four comparison groups and were included in the analysis. Compared to other specialty groups, students choosing EM reported lifestyle and length of residency as strong influences, while attributing less influence to mentors and options for fellowship training. Conclusions:, Students choosing a career in EM have distinctly different priorities and influences than students entering PC and SS. The profile of students who choose EM is very similar to those choosing traditional CL specialties. A more thorough understanding of the values and priorities that shape medical student career selection may allow educators to provide better career counseling. [source]


Career choice and attitudes towards dental education amongst dental students in Japan and Sweden

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2009
H. Karibe
Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the perspectives of dental students towards their career choice and dental education in Japan and Sweden. One hundred and fourteen dental students from the Nippon Dental University, Japan and 43 dental students from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden participated in this study. Information was derived from a self-answered questionnaire consisting of five items for career choice and six items for dental education. Chi-square test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used for comparison. Significant differences were detected for 10 questionnaire items between the two countries. Regarding motivation towards the career choice, 44% of Swedish students indicated interpersonal motives related to helping other people, whereas 32% of Japanese students indicated expectations of their family in the dental profession. As future career options, 64% of Japanese and 47% of Swedish students planned to work as general dentists. More Swedish students (37%) preferred specialisation than Japanese students (17%). Nearly three-quarters of the Swedish students were satisfied with the teaching faculty of their school, whilst only 32% of the Japanese students indicated content. The perspectives of dental students were different in Japan and Sweden. This study provides a description of the perspectives of Japanese and Swedish dental students and enables better understanding of career decision and dental curriculum issues. [source]


Career choice, commitment, and planning in education and research

THE JOURNAL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS, Issue 2 2003
Paul E. Mazmanian PhD Editor
No abstract is available for this article. [source]


Career choices and workplace challenges for individuals with ADHD

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2005
Kathleen G. NadeauArticle first published online: 18 FEB 200
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults is increasingly recognized as a common disorder that can significantly impact workplace functioning, yet few clinicians or career consultants have training in how to help adults select careers or jobs within a chosen career that are a good match for their strengths, weaknesses, ADHD tendencies, and coexisting conditions. Straightforward career counseling is inadequate to meet the needs of adults who have ADHD, and significant follow-up, brain-based counseling or therapy is often necessary to help these adults implement the recommendations generated by an ADHD career assessment. This article guides the clinician through the multiple steps of clinical interview, assessment, and intervention when working with adults who have ADHD who face challenges in the workplace. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol/In Session 61: 549,563, 2005. [source]


Career choices for obstetrics and gynaecology: national surveys of graduates of 1974,2002 from UK medical schools

BJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
G Turner
Objective, To report the trends in career choices for obstetrics and gynaecology among UK medical graduates. Design, Postal questionnaire surveys of qualifiers from all UK medical schools in nine qualification years since 1974. Setting, United Kingdom. Population, All graduates from UK medical schools in 1974, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2002. Methods, Postal questionnaire surveys. Main outcome measures, Career choices for obstetrics and gynaecology and factors influencing career choices for obstetrics and gynaecology. Results, Seventy-four percent (24 623/33 417) and 73% (20 709/28 468) of doctors responded at 1 and 3 years after qualification. Choices for obstetrics and gynaecology fell sharply during the 1990s from 4.2% of 1996 qualifiers to 2.2% of 1999 qualifiers, and rose slightly to 2.8% of 2002 qualifiers. Only 0.8% of male graduates of 2002 chose obstetrics and gynaecology compared with 4.1% of women. Forty-six percent of those who chose obstetrics and gynaecology 1 year after qualification were working in it 10 years after qualifying. Experience of the subject as a student, and the influence of a particular teacher or department, affected long-term career choices more for obstetrics and gynaecology than for other careers. Conclusions, The unwillingness of young doctors to enter obstetrics and gynaecology may be attributable to concerns about workforce planning and career progression problems, rather than any lack of enthusiasm for the specialty. The number of men choosing obstetrics and gynaecology is now very small; the reasons and the future role of men in the specialty need to be debated. [source]


Career choice and attitudes towards dental education amongst dental students in Japan and Sweden

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2009
H. Karibe
Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the perspectives of dental students towards their career choice and dental education in Japan and Sweden. One hundred and fourteen dental students from the Nippon Dental University, Japan and 43 dental students from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden participated in this study. Information was derived from a self-answered questionnaire consisting of five items for career choice and six items for dental education. Chi-square test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used for comparison. Significant differences were detected for 10 questionnaire items between the two countries. Regarding motivation towards the career choice, 44% of Swedish students indicated interpersonal motives related to helping other people, whereas 32% of Japanese students indicated expectations of their family in the dental profession. As future career options, 64% of Japanese and 47% of Swedish students planned to work as general dentists. More Swedish students (37%) preferred specialisation than Japanese students (17%). Nearly three-quarters of the Swedish students were satisfied with the teaching faculty of their school, whilst only 32% of the Japanese students indicated content. The perspectives of dental students were different in Japan and Sweden. This study provides a description of the perspectives of Japanese and Swedish dental students and enables better understanding of career decision and dental curriculum issues. [source]


Against the Tide: Gendered Prejudice and Disadvantage in Engineering

GENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 2 2007
Fatma Küskü
Although a balance has been achieved in the overall numbers of female and male students in higher education in the industrialized countries, vertical sex segregation has remained high as male academics and students continued to outnumber their female counterparts internationally. Gender representation is only one façade of gendered disadvantage in engineering, as complex forms of gendered disadvantage occur in social, cultural, psychological and economic layers of life, where women engineering students find themselves swimming against the tide of prejudice. This article draws on comparative and historical data, and a qualitative study with interviews and a questionnaire survey which generated 603 completed responses from female and male engineering students in Turkey. It seeks to reveal the complex and layered nature of gendered prejudice levelled against female engineering students. The findings suggest that linear formulations of gendered prejudice and disadvantage in engineering study are insufficient to account for the complexity of influences on career choice and their concomitant gendered outcomes. [source]


Influences on the supply of accounting graduates in Australia: a focus on international students

ACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 1 2009
Beverley Jackling
M41 Abstract This paper examines the influences on the potential supply of accounting graduates in Australia with reference to the personal and social influences on the decision to major in accounting using the Theory of Reasoned Action and focusing on differences between local and international students. Responses from 437 accounting majors' found that personal attitudes linked to ,intrinsic interest' and ,extrinsic interest' was influential in choice of major. ,Reference groups' were an important social influence for international students. The findings have implications for government policy and the accounting profession in terms of attracting students and particularly international students, who are sufficiently interested in accounting as a career choice to address the skill shortage in Australia. [source]


Interest in Geriatric Medicine in Canada: How Can We Secure a Next Generation of Geriatricians?

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 3 2006
FRCP(C), Laura L. Diachun MEd
In Canada, there is minimal training of geriatrics for physicians, a shortage of geriatricians, and extremely low numbers of students entering geriatrics. This study explored student interest in and barriers and enticements to geriatric medicine as a career choice. Medical students attending a university in Ontario, Canada, were surveyed in their first year (N=121), after a geriatric education session, and again in their second year (N=118) about their interest in a career in geriatrics. In the first year, less than 20% of students were interested in geriatrics; in the second year this decreased to 16%. In both years, female students were more interested than male students. Those students interested in geriatrics had higher hopes that their practice would involve primarily adults and seniors. Students not interested in geriatrics rated performing procedures and technical skills, not wanting to work with chronically ill patients, and caring for younger patients as important practice characteristics. Although the importance of prestige was low for all students, it was significantly higher for those not interested in geriatrics. Although changes to prestige, income, lifestyle, and length of residency training were identified as potential enticements to geriatrics, they were not major deterrents to a career in geriatrics. The findings suggest strategies that may affect student interest in geriatrics, such as increased and early student exposure to geriatrics with emphasis on fostering and nurturing student interest, consideration of various enticements to this specialty, and the development of health system,specific solutions to this problem. Knowledge of student and practice characteristics that increase the likelihood of selecting geriatrics as a specialty may allow for early identification and support of future geriatricians. [source]


Agency nursing work in acute care settings: perceptions of hospital nursing managers and agency nurse providers

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 4 2003
Elizabeth Manias BPHARM, FRCNA, MNursStud, MPharm
Summary ,,There is a paucity of research in investigating agency nursing work from the perspectives of hospital nursing managers and agency nurse providers. ,,This exploratory paper examines the hospital nursing managers' and agency nurse providers' perceptions and experiences of agency nursing work. ,,Individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with three agency nurse providers and eight hospital nursing managers. Because of the lack of previous research in this area, an exploratory, semi-structured interviewing technique was deemed appropriate. ,,Three major themes emerged from interview data: planning for ward allocation, communication and professionalism. ,,In planning for ward allocation, hospital managers were primarily concerned with maintaining adequate numbers of nursing staff in the ward settings. A major concern for agency nurse providers was inappropriate allocation of temporary staff. ,,Communication was valued in different ways. While hospital managers focused on communication between the agency nurse and other permanent members of the health care team, agency providers were concerned with exchanges between agencies and hospital organizations, and between the agencies and agency nurses. ,,For both groups, responsibility for professional development and the status of agency nursing as a career choice for graduate and experienced nurses were the focal aspects for consideration. ,,A limitation of this study is the small number of individual interviews conducted with hospital nursing managers and agency nurse providers. Nevertheless, the findings represent the views of 11 individuals in senior managerial roles. ,,The findings reinforce the need to enhance collaboration between hospitals and nursing agencies, and to examine how divergent views of agency nursing work could be reconciled , with the aim of providing quality patient care. [source]


Factors influencing career choices in radiology trainees in Queensland, Australia

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
SW Ip
Summary The aim of this study was to investigate factors influencing career choices in radiology trainees. We distributed a 27-question written survey to all radiology registrars in Queensland. The questions investigated whether radiology was their first specialty choice, career satisfaction, ideal working conditions and attitudes regarding having children during the time of training. Forty-four of 51 surveys were returned (86% participation rate, 73% men, P = 0.048055) with 100% reporting a high job satisfaction; 28% of male registrars compared to 8% of female registrars did extra work outside of training to earn extra money (P = 0.000003), and 17% of female registrars took a leave of absence during their training, while no male registrar did (P = 0.087923). Only one female trainee worked part-time (P = 0.272727). In addition, 58% of female registrars planned a pregnancy (P = 0.731789) before completion of training; 83% of women versus 75% of men had no children (P = 0.329263). Only 5% of trainees agreed that it was easy to arrange part-time training, only 14% stated that it was easy to negotiate flexible work schedules and 7% agreed that it was easy to return to work after a period of absence. ,Time spent with immediate family' was rated the most important lifestyle factor, followed by ,work hours' and ,on-call duty'. The least important factors were ,being away from extended family', ,availability of part-time work' and whether ,work was in a rural location'. Overall job satisfaction is high among radiology trainees. Nevertheless, lifestyle factors, particularly those related to work time, are becoming more important for career decisions. This should be taken into account when designing and structuring radiology training to ensure that it is considered an attractive career choice. [source]


Assessing Future Possible Selves by Gender and Socioeconomic Status Using the Anticipated Life History Measure

JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 1 2001
Harry G. Segal
This is a report from the first phase of a longitudinal study of the ways young adults imagine their future lives. The future possible selves of 223 18- and 19-year-old adults were examined using the Anticipated Life History measure (ALH), a psychological instrument prompting participants to describe their future life course from their 21st birthday until their death. When the ALH narratives were coded for presence/absence of life events, female participants were more likely to predict career choice, marriage, children, divorce, and death of spouse than their male counterparts; when coded for psychological qualities, female participants demonstrated greater psychological complexity and awareness of future life role choices and conflicts. Participants with lower SES wrote ALH narratives with fewer altruistic acts, less awareness of life role complexity, and fewer anticipated conflicts and their resolutions than those with higher SES. [source]


Connecting high school physics experiences, outcome expectations, physics identity, and physics career choice: A gender study

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 8 2010
Zahra Hazari
Abstract This study explores how students' physics identities are shaped by their experiences in high school physics classes and by their career outcome expectations. The theoretical framework focuses on physics identity and includes the dimensions of student performance, competence, recognition by others, and interest. Drawing data from the Persistence Research in Science and Engineering (PRiSE) project, which surveyed college English students nationally about their backgrounds, high school science experiences, and science attitudes, the study uses multiple regression to examine the responses of 3,829 students from 34 randomly selected US colleges/universities. Confirming the salience of the identity dimension for young persons' occupational plans, the measure for students' physics identity used in this study was found to strongly predict their intended choice of a physics career. Physics identity, in turn, was found to correlate positively with a desire for an intrinsically fulfilling career and negatively with a desire for personal/family time and opportunities to work with others. Physics identity was also positively predicted by several high school physics characteristics/experiences such as a focus on conceptual understanding, real-world/contextual connections, students answering questions or making comments, students teaching classmates, and having an encouraging teacher. Even though equally beneficial for both genders, females reported experiencing a conceptual focus and real-world/contextual connections less frequently. The explicit discussion of under-representation of women in science was positively related to physics identity for female students but had no impact for male students. Surprisingly, several experiences that were hypothesized to be important for females' physics identity were found to be non-significant including having female scientist guest speakers, discussion of women scientists' work, and the frequency of group work. This study exemplifies a useful theoretical framework based on identity, which can be employed to further examine persistence in science, and illustrates possible avenues for change in high school physics teaching. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 978,1003, 2010 [source]


Factors affecting future choice of specialty among first-year medical students of the University of the West Indies, Trinidad

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2007
Nelleen S Baboolal
Background, This study was conducted to determine factors that influence career choice among 1st-year medical students. Design And Methods, A cross-sectional survey of 170 1st-year medical students from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus was undertaken with a questionnaire designed to assess their perceptions of careers in various specialties. Likert scales were used to quantify the reasons for their preferences. Results, The response rate was 136/170 (80%). The age of respondents ranged from 16 to 36 years, mean 20.45, SD 2.88. Of the generic factors students considered important in their choice of a specialty, students ranked the ability to help patients the highest (rating of 1.44), along with the diagnosis and treatment of disease second (rating of 1.49); 38 (27.9%) cited medicine, 26 (19.1%) surgery, 13 (9.6%) paediatrics, 10 (7.4%) family practice and 4 (2.9%) psychiatry as their chosen career. Students begin their medical training with the view that a career in psychiatry is less attractive than other specialties surveyed. The average attractiveness was estimated as surgery 1.64, medicine, 1.81, paediatrics 1.95 and psychiatry 2.57. The differences between the averages were highly significant (F = 57.6, P < 0.001). Conclusion, The findings suggest that although 1st-year medical students rank the diagnosis and treatment of disease and the ability to help patients as the greatest influence in choosing a specialty, internal medicine was the most popular chosen career, while the surgical specialties were identified as the most attractive. Medical students have serious reservations about psychiatry as a career choice. [source]


The compatibility of future doctors' career intentions with changing health care demands

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 6 2006
Marjolein A G Van Offenbeek
Background, In the Netherlands the medical education system is in the process of being transformed to establish a more demand-oriented health care system. This transformation may entail the occupational restructuring of the medical profession. Meanwhile, on the supply side, the career intentions of future doctors are also changing. Objectives, We aimed to categorise medical students' prevailing career intentions and to examine to what extent newly proposed medical occupations that may be part of the transformation process correspond with these career intentions. Methods, We carried out expert interviews and a feedback round to gain input for a survey among students. From the demand perspective, 11 experts proposed non-traditional medical occupations and evaluated these on the basis of job characteristics relevant to a doctor's career choice. Subsequently, students from 5 universities filled out a questionnaire to rate these job characteristics by their importance and the proposed occupations' attractiveness. Results, Four different clusters of career intentions were categorised as patient-oriented expert, career-oriented specialist, lifestyle-oriented generalist, and balance-seeking realist. These clusters differ in terms of the ways in which students feel attracted to the proposed occupations. The career-oriented specialists feel least attracted and the lifestyle-oriented generalists most attracted to the occupations. Discussion, The experts' call for shorter postgraduate programmes to educate patient-oriented doctors partly matches students' career intentions. Most students share the intention of obtaining a direct care position that provides ample task variation, which may explain the appeal of the occupations ,emergency doctor' and ,basic specialist'. The limited interest in specific patient groups suggests a need for more exposure to the occupations linked to these groups. [source]


A comparison study of career satisfaction and emotional states between primary care and speciality residents

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2006
Donald E Girard
Objective, To evaluate career satisfaction, emotional states and positive and negative experiences among residents in primary care and speciality programmes in 1 academic medical centre prior to the implementation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's (ACGME) duty hour requirements. Design, Cross-sectional survey. Measurements, All 581 residents in the academic health centre were asked to participate voluntarily in a confidential survey; 327(56%) completed the survey. Results, Compared to their primary care colleagues, speciality residents had higher levels of satisfaction with career choice, feelings of competence and excitement, lower levels of inferiority and fatigue and different perceptions of positive and negative training experiences. However, 77% of all respondents were consistently or generally pleased with their career choices. The most positive residents' experiences related to interpersonal relationships and their educational value; the most negative experiences related to interpersonal relationships and issues perceived to be outside of residents' control. Age and training level, but not gender also influenced career satisfaction, emotional states and positive and negative opinions about residency. Conclusions, Less satisfaction with career choice and more negative emotional states for primary care residents compared to speciality residents probably relate to the training experience and may influence medical students' selections of careers. The primary care residents, compared to speciality residents, appear to have difficulty in fulfilling their ideals of professionalism in an environment where they have no control. These data provide baseline information with which to compare these same factors after the implementation of the ACGME duty hours' and competency requirements. [source]


Doctors' reasons for rejecting initial choices of specialties as long-term careers

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 4 2003
Trevor W Lambert
Objectives, To report on rejected choices of specialty as long-term careers and reasons for rejection. Design, Postal questionnaire survey. Setting, United Kingdom. Participants, All graduates of 1996 and 1999 from UK medical schools during their first year after qualification. Main outcome measures, Any career choice which had been seriously considered and rejected and the reason for its rejection. Results, In all, 33·1% (1871) of respondents named a rejected choice and gave reasons for its rejection. Disproportionately high numbers rejected the surgical specialties, paediatrics and obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G), using the specialty distribution of positive choices as the comparator. Relatively few doctors rejected general practice (GP) after giving it serious consideration. Doctors rejecting the hospital medical and surgical specialties or paediatrics were most likely to specify reasons relating to quality of life. Three-quarters of the graduates of 1999 who rejected O&G did so because of poor career prospects. Conclusions, Quality of life issues, and concerns about working relationships, are sufficiently influential to persuade many doctors to abandon an initial choice of medical career. It is unlikely that much of the decline in entry to GP is attributable to rejection of GP by doctors who initially chose it. The decline must therefore represent an increase in the number of doctors who had never seriously considered it as a long-term career choice. [source]


Critical factors in career decision making for women medical graduates

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 4 2003
Joanna Lawrence
Background, Within the next 30 years there will be equal numbers of women and men in the medical workforce. Indications are that women are increasing their participation in specialties other than general practice, although at a slower rate than their participation in the workforce as a whole. To inform those involved in training and employment of medical women, this study investigated the influencing factors in career decision making for female medical graduates. Methods, A total of 305 women medical graduates from the University of Auckland responded to a mail survey (73% response rate) which examined influences on decision making, in both qualitative and quantitative ways, as part of a larger survey. Results, Most women were satisfied with their careers. The principal component analysis of the influencing factors identified four distinct factors important in career choice , interest, flexibility, women friendliness and job security, although the first two of these were rated more highly than the others. Conclusions, Barriers to full participation by medical women in training and employment need to be systematically examined and removed. This is not only to allow women themselves to reach their full potential, but for workforce and socio-economic reasons. Initiatives that allow and value more flexible training and work practices, particularly through the years of child raising, are necessary for women and the health care workforce at large. [source]


Sci45: the development of a specialty choice inventory

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 7 2002
Rodney Gale
Objective, To devise a valid career selection instrument to help doctors in training choose from a range of specialties that match their attributes and aspirations and to help selection interviewers focus on the key issues pertaining to the suitability of candidates for particular training opportunities. Design, A psychometric instrument of 130 4-response choice items was developed to match individual personal and professional preferences to possible career specialty choices. The development process involved semi-structured interviews with consultants in 35 specialties, a national postal survey of consultants in 45 specialties, factor analysis of the results, design of the pilot instruments, testing on 450 senior house officers (doctors in basic specialist training within 2,5 years of leaving medical school), and further item analysis to derive the final instrument. A scoring system and software were developed to indicate the best and worst fit specialties for the respondent. Participants, The participants were hospital consultants, general practitioners and senior house officers (SHOs) in basic specialist training. Outcome measure, The successful construction of a valid and accessible career choice instrument (Specialty Choice Inventory/Sci45). Conclusions This project has yielded a psychometrically valid computer- or paper-based instrument that can be used by doctors at any stage of training to assist in career choice. It can be used as part of the selection process, for careers guidance, for analysis of career problems, for research or to validate a particular range of career options. [source]


Medical student attitudes toward the doctor,patient relationship

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 6 2002
Paul Haidet
Context, Medical educators have emphasized the importance of teaching patient-centred care. Objectives, To describe and quantify the attitudes of medical students towards patient-centred care and to examine: (a) the differences in these attitudes between students in early and later years of medical school; and (b) factors associated with patient-centred attitudes. Methods, We surveyed 673 students in the first, third, and fourth years of medical school. Our survey utilized the Patient,Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS), a validated instrument designed to measure individual preferences towards various aspects of the doctor,patient relationship. Total PPOS scores can range from patient-centred (egalitarian, whole person oriented) to disease- or doctor-centred (paternalistic, less attuned to psychosocial issues). Additional demographic data including gender, age, ethnicity, undergraduate coursework, family medical background and specialty choice were collected from the fourth year class. Results, A total of 510 students (76%) completed data collection. Female gender (P < 0·001) and earlier year of medical school (P = 0·03) were significantly associated with patient-centred attitudes. Among fourth year students (n = 89), characteristics associated with more patient-centred attitudes included female gender, European-American ethnicity, and primary-care career choice (P < 0·05 for each comparison). Conclusion, Despite emphasis on the need for curricula that foster patient-centred attitudes among medical students, our data suggest that students in later years of medical school have attitudes that are more doctor-centred or paternalistic compared to students in earlier years. Given the emphasis placed on patient satisfaction and patient-centred care in the current medical environment, our results warrant further research and dialogue to explore the dynamics in medical education that may foster or inhibit student attitudes toward patient-centred care. [source]


Does a rural educational experience influence students' likelihood of rural practice?

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2002
Impact of student background, gender
Context The family medicine clerkship at the University of Calgary is a 4-week mandatory rotation in the final year of a 3-year programme. Students are given the opportunity to experience rural practice by training at 1 of several rural practices. Objective To determine whether exposure to a rural educational experience changes students' likelihood of doing a rural locum or rural practice and whether student background and gender are related to these practice plans. Method Clinical clerks from the Classes of 1996,2000, who trained at rural sites, responded to questionnaire items both before and after the rural educational experience. Responses to the questionnaire items and discipline of postgraduate training served as dependent variables. Student background and gender were independent variables. Results As a result of the rural educational experience all students were more likely to do a rural locum. Compared to their urban-raised peers, students from rural backgrounds reported a significantly greater likelihood of doing a rural locum and practising in a rural community, irrespective of gender or participating in a rural educational experience. There was no relationship between background and career choice. Conclusion A rural educational experience at the undergraduate level increases the stated likelihood of students participating in rural locums and helps to solidify existing rural affiliations. Students with rural backgrounds have a more favourable attitude toward rural practice. This pre-post study provides further support for the preferential admission to medical school of students with rural backgrounds to help alleviate the rural physician shortage. [source]


Bringing nursing research to the public: Making media matter

NURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES, Issue 1 2005
Phyllis N. Stern dns, doctor of laws (hons)
Through historical research we are working to elevate the image of nursing from one who takes orders, to that of ,vital participant in health care' through education, research and service. By getting this message to the public, we hope to make nursing a more respected, valued and attractive career choice for women and men. [source]


Historically Black Colleges and University students' and faculties' views of school psychology: Implications for increasing diversity in higher education,

PSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 7 2009
Scott L. Graves Jr.
This study investigates Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) students' and faculties' knowledge related to school psychology. A total of 165 students and 14 faculty members completed inventories that assessed the understanding and views of various psychological disciplines. Results indicated that HBCU students rated their perceived knowledge of school psychology significantly lower than all psychological disciplines. In addition, these students have significantly fewer sources of information for school psychology than comparable disciplines. Although more than 90% of students stated that they would attend graduate school, the majority was only somewhat interested in school psychology as a career choice. Furthermore, HBCU psychology faculty members stated that the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists do not actively recruit or provide information to their students. Results are discussed in terms of increasing the number of African American school psychologists. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


AL03 ADVERSE EVENTS: OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPORTING, REVIEWING AND RESPONDING

ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 2009
J. Collins
The sustained production of competent surgeons in sufficient numbers to meet the increasing needs of society commences with recruitment and selection of the most able medical graduates. As the process begins through self-selection, accurate information must be readily available to enable these graduates make an informed judgement on their career choice. Each surgical discipline aspires to use best practice selection in order to identify those who have the potential to acquire the necessary standard of technical and non technical skills and attributes required to practice as a surgeon. A selection system must rank applicants effectively and be reliable, valid, fair, defensible, cost effective and feasible. Best practice selection commences with an analysis of the relevant knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes associated with successful performance in the particular target job. This information is used to construct a person specification in order to identify selection criteria at a level appropriate for entry to training. Selection methods are then chosen which will best elicit measurable applicant behaviour related to these selection criteria. A number of selection methods are used which include structured references, curriculum vitae and interviews. Other methods available although rarely used include tests of mental ability, aptitude tests and personality inventories. More recently selection or assessment centres (a selection method, not a place) involving a combination of selection techniques such as written exercises, interviews and work simulations have been shown to be highly effective. Eligibility criteria for application (long listing), shortlising for interview, scoring of items within each selection method and overall % weighting for each method are important variables in the selection process. [source]


Danger,early maladaptive schemas at work!: the role of early maladaptive schemas in career choice and the development of occupational stress in health workers

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 2 2008
Martin Bamber
The schema-focused model of occupational stress and work dysfunctions (Bamber & Price, 2006; Bamber, 2006) hypothesizes that individuals with EMS (unconsciously) gravitate toward occupations with similar dynamics and structures to the toxic early environments and relationships that created them. They subsequently re-enact these EMS and their associated maladaptive coping styles in the workplace. For most individuals, this results in ,schema healing', but for some individuals with more rigid and severe EMS, schema healing is not achieved and the structures and relationships of the workplace, together with the utilization of maladaptive coping styles, serve to perpetuate their EMS. The model hypothesizes that it is these individuals who are most vulnerable to developing occupational stress syndromes To date, this model has been subjected to very little empirical investigation, so the main aim of this study was to address this gap in the literature by testing out some of its main assumptions and to provide empirical data, which would either support or reject the model using a population of health workers. Specifically, it was hypothesized that ,occupation-specific' EMS would be found in health workers from a range of different healthcare professions. It was also hypothesized that the presence of higher levels of EMS would be predictive of raised levels of occupational stress, psychiatric caseness and increased sickness absence in those individuals. A cross-sectional study design was employed and a total of 249 staff working within a NHS Trust, belonging to one of five occupational groups (medical doctors, nurses, clinical psychologists, IT staff and managers), participated in the study. All participants completed the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (Young, 1998); the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Form (Maslach & Jackson, 1981), and the General Health Questionnaire-28-item version (Goldberg, 1978). A demographic questionnaire and sickness absence data was also collected. The results of a between groups analysis of variance and further post hoc statistical analyses identified a number of occupation specific EMS. Also, the results of a series of multiple linear regression analyses indicated the presence of some EMS to be predictive of higher levels of burnout, psychiatric caseness and sickness absence in health workers. In conclusion, the findings of this study provide empirical support for the schema-focused model of occupational stress and work dysfunctions (Bamber & Price, 2006; Bamber, 2006), and it appears that the existence of underlying EMS may constitute a predisposing vulnerability factor to developing occupational stress.,Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Distorted Views Through the Glass Ceiling: The Construction of Women's Understandings of Promotion and Senior Management Positions

GENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 1 2001
Sonia Liff
The article explores the issue of whether women's under-representation in senior management positions can be explained in part by the messages they are given about the promotion process and the requirements of senior jobs. Through interviews with over 50 male and female junior and senior managers in a UK high street bank, issues relating to the required personality and behaviour characteristics seen to be associated with success and with the long hours culture emerged as important. In many cases men and women identified the same issues but the significance of them for their own decision-making and the way others interpreted their behaviour varied , particularly in relation to the perceived incompatibility between active parenting and senior roles. The findings provide an account of the context in which women make career choices which highlights the limitations of analyses which see women's absence as the result either of procedural discrimination or women's primary orientation towards home and family. The findings also highlight the problems of treating commitments towards gender equality as an isolated issue and stress the importance of understanding responses to policies and ways of achieving change within the broader context of an analysis of the organization's culture. [source]


The relationship between satisfaction with workplace training and overall job satisfaction

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2007
Steven W. Schmidt
Opportunities for training and development are paramount in decisions regarding employee career choices. Despite the importance, many research studies on job satisfaction do not address satisfaction with workplace training as an element of overall job satisfaction, and many job satisfaction survey instruments do not include a "satisfaction with workplace training" component. This study examined the relationship between satisfaction with employer-provided workplace training and overall job satisfaction of customer contact representatives. A significant relationship was found between job training satisfaction and overall job satisfaction. Components of job training, including time spent in training, training methodologies, and content, were determined to be significant in their relationship to job training satisfaction, and trainees were significantly more satisfied with the training they received when the methodology employed was their preferred one. On the basis of these findings, conclusions were drawn and recommendations for researchers and practitioners in the field of HRD were made. [source]


A DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, OCCUPATIONAL CHOICES, AND JOB SEARCH,

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 1 2010
Paul Sullivan
This article examines career choices using a dynamic structural model that nests a job search model within a human capital model of occupational and educational choices. Wage growth occurs in the model because workers move between firms and occupations as they search for suitable job matches and because workers endogenously accumulate firm and occupation specific human capital. Simulations performed using the estimated model reveal that both self-selection in occupational choices and mobility between firms account for a much larger share of total earnings and utility than the combined effects of firm and occupation specific human capital. [source]


Factors influencing career choices in radiology trainees in Queensland, Australia

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
SW Ip
Summary The aim of this study was to investigate factors influencing career choices in radiology trainees. We distributed a 27-question written survey to all radiology registrars in Queensland. The questions investigated whether radiology was their first specialty choice, career satisfaction, ideal working conditions and attitudes regarding having children during the time of training. Forty-four of 51 surveys were returned (86% participation rate, 73% men, P = 0.048055) with 100% reporting a high job satisfaction; 28% of male registrars compared to 8% of female registrars did extra work outside of training to earn extra money (P = 0.000003), and 17% of female registrars took a leave of absence during their training, while no male registrar did (P = 0.087923). Only one female trainee worked part-time (P = 0.272727). In addition, 58% of female registrars planned a pregnancy (P = 0.731789) before completion of training; 83% of women versus 75% of men had no children (P = 0.329263). Only 5% of trainees agreed that it was easy to arrange part-time training, only 14% stated that it was easy to negotiate flexible work schedules and 7% agreed that it was easy to return to work after a period of absence. ,Time spent with immediate family' was rated the most important lifestyle factor, followed by ,work hours' and ,on-call duty'. The least important factors were ,being away from extended family', ,availability of part-time work' and whether ,work was in a rural location'. Overall job satisfaction is high among radiology trainees. Nevertheless, lifestyle factors, particularly those related to work time, are becoming more important for career decisions. This should be taken into account when designing and structuring radiology training to ensure that it is considered an attractive career choice. [source]


The allocation of prestigious positions in organizational science: accumulative advantage, sponsored mobility, and contest mobility

JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 5 2005
C. Chet Miller
More than 200 freshly minted doctoral graduates enter the field of organization science every year. A non-trivial number of existing faculty members move from one university to another every year, while other organization science faculty leave academia to enter retirement, consulting, or industry. Despite the importance of this large, complex system of entries and exits, few attempts have been made to explicitly understand how the system works. Drawing upon sociology of science and careers research, we studied the underlying form of the position allocation system by focusing on the relative importance of research success and prior affiliations as antecedents of movement and stability across positions. We used three theoretical models: accumulative advantage, sponsored mobility, and contest mobility. Tracking hundreds of faculty members for 16 years post doctorate, we find a downward cascading of affiliation prestige over time that affects people more dramatically and quickly than we expected, especially women. Accumulative advantage, the most predictive of our models, does help to maintain relative but not absolute prestige, at least until its effects wane in later years of the career. These findings are relevant to scholars interested in the sociology of science, organization scholars interested in the underlying dynamics of their discipline, and individuals making career choices. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]