Table 3.

Grouping of positive perceptions into larger subcategories.

Positive perceptions
Category	Perceptions included	Included in (n) studies
Nature of specialty	Challenging (2), Creative (2), Artistic (1), Rewarding (1), Rapidly growing (1), Life changing (1) and Interesting (1)	9
Lifestyle	Lifestyle (2) and Income (5)	7
Opportunities	Research (3), Travel (1), Management (1), Teaching (1), Private practice (2) and Voluntary work (1)	9
Patient Interaction	Patient Interaction (2)	2
Operative satisfaction	Operative satisfaction (1)	1
Skill requirement	Skill requirement (4)	4
Positive Outlook	Positive Outlook (1)	1
Total positive perceptions reported (n): 33
Total unique positive perceptions reported (n): 19
Studies reporting positive perceptions (n): 9

Positive perceptions were reported in 9 studies, and these were categorised as: nature of specialty, lifestyle, opportunities, patient interaction, operative satisfaction, skill requirement and positive outlook.