School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton, 49 Darley Rd, Eastbourne, BN20 7UR, UK.
Gills Farm, London Rd, Battle, London, UK.
J Foot Ankle Res. 2021 Apr 16;14(1):33. doi: 10.1186/s13047-021-00470-y.
Training for a career in podiatry is reported to provide graduates with excellent employability, alongside professional autonomy and suitable renumeration. Yet, there has been an ongoing decline in the number of those applying to study the subject. There is limited literature associated with this topic and we sought to explore the factors that attract 'generation Z' (those born 1995-2010) to a potential career in podiatry.
A qualitative design framework underpinned by phenomenological principles used four focus groups over a two-year period to generate data from participants at University and in Further Education. Focus group conversations were led by external facilitator, recorded, independently transcribed verbatim and anonymised prior to thematic analysis. This was followed by external, independent verification of themes.
Four main themes were determined from the analysis i) a lack of awareness of podiatry; ii) podiatry: accessible course, accessible career; iii) career status; iv) breadth/opportunity of the scope of practice. Both positive and negative experiences were reported and highlighted key gaps in how the attractiveness of a career in podiatry is portrayed.
The chronic lack of awareness of podiatry as a career clearly needs to be addressed, ideally with more positive role modelling in mainstream and popular media. The career status offered together with the breadth of, and opportunity associated with, the scope of practice should continue to be celebrated.
据报道，接受足病医学职业培训可为毕业生提供出色的就业能力、专业自主性和适当的薪酬。然而，申请该专业学习的人数一直在持续下降。针对这一主题的文献有限，我们试图探讨吸引“Z 世代”（1995 年至 2010 年出生的人）从事足病医学潜在职业的因素。
本研究采用以现象学原则为基础的定性设计框架，通过四年的时间，在大学和继续教育阶段使用四个焦点小组，从参与者那里获取数据。外部协调员主导焦点小组的讨论，对讨论内容进行录音，在进行主题分析之前，将其逐字独立转录并匿名化。然后对主题进行外部独立验证。
通过分析确定了四个主要主题：i）对足病医学缺乏了解；ii）足病医学：可及的课程，可及的职业；iii）职业地位；iv）实践范围的广度/机会。研究报告了正面和负面的经验，并强调了在足病医学职业吸引力方面存在的明显差距。
显然，需要解决人们对足病医学作为职业的长期缺乏认识的问题，理想的做法是在主流和大众媒体中增加积极的榜样作用。还应继续强调所提供的职业地位，以及与实践范围相关的广度和机会。
