Mah Jasmine C, Kanagalingam Tharsan, Best Sarah, Elhayek Sallie, Thain Jenny, Morais José A, Lamarre Marianne, Bhangu Jaspreet, Borrie Michael J, Sirisegaram Luxey
Division of Geriatric Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS.
Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON.
Can Geriatr J. 2024 Dec 1;27(4):485-499. doi: 10.5770/cgj.27.774. eCollection 2024 Dec.
There is a projected and growing gap of geriatricians in Canada. Geriatricians play a crucial role in addressing the health needs of older adults. We aimed to understand the factors that influence the choice of first-practice location for new geriatricians in the context of an aging Canadian population.
We distributed an online survey to geriatric medicine subspecialty residents and recently licensed geriatricians in Canada. The survey was developed through expert opinions, career planning sessions, and a literature review. There were nine survey sections: general characteristics, location determinants, practice determinants, colleague determinants, support and space, non-clinical opportunities, income models, lifestyle factors, and recruitment determinants. The data were analyzed descriptively.
A total of 61 respondents (51 English, 10 French) completed the survey. The respondents were new practicing geriatricians (37) and geriatric medicine residents (24). Most planned to practice in Ontario (26.2%) or Quebec (27.9%), and 75.4% were women. Flexibility in work-life balance (95.1%), collegiality (93.4%) and reasonable call schedules (93.4%) were the most important factors influencing first practice location. Income did not rank among the highest priorities for choosing the first practice location relative to other factors but was mentioned in open-ended responses to recruitment questions.
This is the first survey identifying the determinants of first practice location in geriatric medicine in Canada. Work-life balance and collegial support are a priority for new geriatricians and may be the strongest incentives a program can provide. For recruitment, income incentives may be beneficial to building new specialized geriatric services. Future research will examine determinants of first practice location among Care of the Elderly clinicians.
预计加拿大老年医学专家的缺口将不断扩大。老年医学专家在满足老年人的健康需求方面发挥着关键作用。在加拿大人口老龄化的背景下，我们旨在了解影响新老年医学专家首次执业地点选择的因素。
我们向加拿大老年医学亚专科住院医师和最近获得执照的老年医学专家发放了一份在线调查问卷。该调查问卷是通过专家意见、职业规划会议和文献综述制定的。调查问卷有九个部分：一般特征、地点决定因素、执业决定因素、同事决定因素、支持与空间、非临床机会、收入模式、生活方式因素和招聘决定因素。对数据进行了描述性分析。
共有61名受访者（51名英语使用者，10名法语使用者）完成了调查。受访者为新执业的老年医学专家（37名）和老年医学住院医师（24名）。大多数人计划在安大略省（26.2%）或魁北克省（27.9%）执业，75.4%为女性。工作与生活平衡的灵活性（95.1%）、同事关系（93.4%）和合理的值班安排（93.4%）是影响首次执业地点的最重要因素。相对于其他因素，收入在选择首次执业地点的优先事项中并未名列前茅，但在招聘问题的开放式回答中被提及。
这是第一项确定加拿大老年医学首次执业地点决定因素的调查。工作与生活平衡和同事支持是新老年医学专家的首要任务，可能是项目能够提供的最有力激励措施。对于招聘而言，收入激励可能有利于建立新的老年专科服务。未来的研究将考察老年护理临床医生首次执业地点的决定因素。
