Table 2.
Selection of General Internal Medicine Career According to Sociodemographic Factors
| Variable | n | General Internists (%) | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | |||
| Women | 97 | 69 (71.1) | .16 |
| Men | 107 | 65 (60.7) | |
| Race/ethnicity | |||
| Non-Hispanic white | 108 | 72 (66.7) | .87 |
| Other | 96 | 62 (64.6) | |
| Marital status | |||
| Married | 96 | 62 (64.6) | .91 |
| Not married | 108 | 71 (66.7) | |
| Medical school location | |||
| United States | 177 | 125 (70.6) | <.001 |
| International | 27 | 9 (33.3) | |
| Year of medical school graduation | |||
| 1992 or earlier | 99 | 56 (56.6) | .01 |
| 1993 or later | 104 | 77 (74.0) | |
| Self-reported rank in medical school | |||
| Top third | 80 | 45 (56.3) | |
| Middle third | 95 | 66 (69.5) | .035* |
| Bottom third | 21 | 16 (76.2) | |
| College major | |||
| Liberal arts | 23 | 14 (60.9) | .45 |
| Other | 164 | 117 (71.3) | |
| College category | |||
| Public | 116 | 81 (69.8) | 1.0 |
| Private | 71 | 50 (70.4) | |
| Medical school category | |||
| Public | 170 | 114 (67.1) | .47 |
| Private | 34 | 20 (58.8) | |
| Hometown population | |||
| <10,000 | 16 | 11 (68.8) | .55* |
| 10 to 50,000 | 34 | 24 (70.6) | |
| 50 to 100,000 | 27 | 16 (59.3) | |
| 100 to 500,000 | 40 | 27 (67.5) | |
| 500,000 to 1 million | 31 | 21 (67.7) | |
| >1 million | 55 | 34 (61.8) | |
| Time of decision to become doctor | |||
| After another career | 31 | 24 (77.4) | .20 |
| Other time | 173 | 110 (63.6) | |
| Educational loan debt | |||
| >$100,000 | 18 | 15 (83.3) | .001* |
| $50 to 100,000 | 79 | 55 (69.3) | |
| <$50,000 | 62 | 45 (72.6) | |
| None | 45 | 19 (42.2) | |
| Perceived potential income of General Internists | |||
| Lower | 158 | 109 (69.0) | .08 |
| Same or higher | 45 | 24 (53.3) | |
*
P value is for linear trend.