[Norwegian medical students abroad--career plans, personality, smoking and alcohol use].

BACKGROUND

More than 30% of Norwegian physicians have graduated from medical schools outside Norway, and the number of Norwegian students that attend medical schools abroad is increasing, particularly in Hungary, Poland and the Czech republic. There is a need to know more about these future Norwegian doctors, what their motives and plans are, and how they differ from students at home.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A postal survey was carried out among all 1,198 Norwegian medical students that were in the files of the State Education Loan Fund by August 1998. The questions covered reasons for going abroad, academic and non-academic outcome, satisfaction, specialty and job preferences, possible motives for career choices, personality characteristics, smoking status and alcohol use. Comparable data were available from previous studies of medical students in Norway.

RESULTS

There were 756 responses (63%). Surgery, internal medicine and paediatrics were the most popular specialties. Family medicine and psychiatry seem to be less likely specialties for students abroad than for students at home. Traditional gender differences, e.g. interest in aiming for a leadership position, were present and did not differ from those seen among students in Norway. Students abroad were more oriented towards leadership and prestigious specialties, less preoccupied with the possibility of making medical mistakes, and less interested in medico-policial issues than their counterparts at home. Their personality profiles seemed more robust than those of students in Norway. On the other hand, they smoked much more frequently and had a higher risk of alcohol-related problems.

INTERPRETATION

Norwegian medical students abroad do not particularly prefer specialties like general practice and psychiatry, where the demand for medical manpower is highest. They seem to have quite traditional preferences according to gender.