BACKGROUND Several studies indicate that doctors who work in the same area of the medical profession tend to behave somehow similarly. Thus, it has been suggested that personality relates to the medical specialty choice. However, it is not known whether people self-select into the medical specialties according to their personality or the professional practice in a particular field influences th...

It is important for members of the dental specialties to understand what motivates students to enter the specialty in order to ensure its continuing development and ability to meet patient needs. The aim of this study was to compare ten graduating classes at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) regarding students' experiences with and perceptions of prosthodontics and factors influencing th...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to examine factors used by medical students to select a primary care specialty that may differentiate students who choose the primary care specialties of family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and combined internal medicine-pediatrics. METHODS A questionnaire was sent to all family physicians and an equal number of other primary care...

BACKGROUND Changes to the structure of medical training worldwide require doctors to decide on their career specialty at an increasingly early stage after graduation. We studied trends in career choices for surgery, and the eventual career destinations, of UK graduates who declared an early preference for surgery. METHODS Postal questionnaires were sent, at regular time intervals after qualif...

Background: The dramatic increase in the number of general practitioners and their limited job situations has increased the desire to continue studies in specialized fields. However, different fields are not desired in the same way. Therefore, to plan for the guidance of general practitioners towards fields needed for the society, understanding the motives for choosing a field is necessary. The...

This study estimates the probability of mental health specialist use among elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries treated for a primary psychiatric diagnosis, based on the 1991 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) and physician claims. Beneficiaries with psychotic and affective disorders or multiple psychiatric diagnoses had a higher probability of specialty use, as did beneficiaries...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This study investigated interest in research related to declining interest in family medicine by US medical school graduates. METHODS Twenty-four schools were selected for study based on American Academy of Family Physicians data on the number of their graduates entering family medicine. Data for all graduates in 1997, 1998, and 1999 were obtained from the Associatio...