Where do medically qualified researchers come from?

262 doctors in research oriented posts completed a questionnaire on their career and influences upon it. 14% did not regard themselves as committed to a career in research. Of those who did, less than one-third made their choice by graduation; almost half did so 3 or more years after qualification. For 41%, research was a planned career; 39% developed their interest within a job that was not necessarily research oriented; and 20% entered research fortuitously. 29% of the sample had undertaken intercalated degrees. 50% had a higher medical degree, 14% had a non-medical research degree, and a further 11% had both; 25% possessed neither. The most frequently reported positive influence on the decision to follow a research career was intrinsic motivation (eg, interest in a particular subject), though a teacher or mentor had a considerable influence on the decision of 59% of respondents. Only 40% of respondents did some research at medical school; of these, 43% thought that it had positively affected them considerably, and only 16% that it had not done so at all.