Primary care specialty career choice among Canadian medical students: Understanding the factors that influence their decisions.

OBJECTIVE

To identify which factors influence medical students' decision to choose a career in family medicine and pediatrics, and which factors influence their decision to choose careers in non-front-line specialties.

DESIGN

Survey that was created based on a comprehensive literature review to determine which factors are considered important when choosing practice specialty.

SETTING

Ontario medical school.

PARTICIPANTS

An open cohort of medical students in the graduating classes of 2008 to 2011 (inclusive).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The main factors that influenced participants' decision to choose a career in primary care or pediatrics, and the main factors that influenced participants' decision to choose a career in a non-front-line specialty.

RESULTS

A total of 323 participants were included in this study. Factors that significantly influenced participants' career choice in family medicine or pediatrics involved work-life balance (acceptable hours of practice [ = .005], acceptable on-call demands [ = .012], and lifestyle flexibility [ = .006]); a robust physician-patient relationship (ability to promote individual health promotion [ = .014] and the opportunity to form long-term relationships [ < .001], provide comprehensive care [ = .001], and treat patients and their families [ = .006]); and duration of residency program ( = .001). The career-related factors that significantly influenced participants' decision to choose a non-front-line specialty were as follows: becoming an expert ( < .001), maintaining a focused scope of practice ( < .001), having a procedure-focused practice ( = .001), seeing immediate results from one's actions ( < .001), potentially earning a high income ( < .001), and having a perceived status among colleagues ( < .001).

CONCLUSION

In this study, 8 factors were found to positively influence medical students' career choice in family medicine and pediatrics, and 6 factors influenced the decision to choose a career in a non-front-line specialty. Medical students can be encouraged to explore a career in family medicine or pediatrics by addressing misinformation, by encouraging realistic expectations of career outcomes in the various specialties, and by demonstrating the capacity of primary care fields to incorporate specific motivating factors.