Table 2.
Comparison of MS1 and MS2 on importance of factors in considering medicine
| Items | MS1 T1 | MS1 T2 | MS2 T2 | MS2 T2 | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How important are the following factors in considering your career in medicine? | |||||
| Personal attraction to medicine | 4.83 | 4.81 | 4.82 | 4.81 | NS |
| Opportunities to make a difference in peoples’ lives | 4.88 | 4.81 | 4.84 | 4.83 | NS |
| Intellectual climate | 4.45 | 4.50 | 4.52 | 4.46 | NS |
| Desire to do primary care | 3.03 | 2.87 | 2.72 | 2.73 | NS |
| Availability of jobs | 3.58 | 3.68 | 3.88 | 3.87 | 0.034* |
| Job security | 3.81 | 3.99 | 4.04 | 4.03 | NS |
| Opportunity to help patients who are socially disadvantaged | 4.13 | 3.99 | 3.90 | 3.90 | 0.074 |
| Desire to serve my community | 4.42 | 4.24 | 4.35 | 4.36 | 0.023* |
| High income potential | 2.80 | 3.09 | 3.33 | 3.30 | 0 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.76 | 4.70 | 4.79 | 4.80 | NS |
| Status of physicians | 2.69 | 2.81 | 2.93 | 2.83 | NS |
|
|
|||||
| How important are the following factors in considering your choice for a specialty? | |||||
| Income expectations for the specialty | 2.80 | 3.09 | 3.21 | 3.20 | 0.004** |
| Amount of education debt I have | 2.79 | 3.16 | 2.98 | 2.95 | NS |
| Ability to balance my work life with my family responsibilities | 4.41 | 4.33 | 4.63 | 4.61 | 0.001** |
| Content of the specialty | 4.73 | 4.65 | 4.7 | 4.68 | NS |
| Competitiveness of the specialty | 3.16 | 3.17 | 3.05 | 3.05 | NS |
| Options for fellowship training associated with the specialty | 3.29 | 3.2 | 3.45 | 3.38 | NS |
| Length of residency training associated with the specialty | 3.17 | 3.24 | 3.42 | 3.45 | 0.05* |
| The lifestyle of the specialty I am considering | 4.22 | 4.19 | 4.41 | 4.37 | 0.015* |
| Prestige of the specialty I am considering | 2.18 | 2.52 | 2.46 | 2.39 | NS |
| Career workshops and courses | 2.73 | 2.51 | 2.53 | 2.47 | NS |
| Opportunities to do research in this specialty | 2.60 | 2.61 | 2.44 | 2.39 | NS |
| Opportunities to provide care to underserved populations | 3.42 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.28 | NS |
|
|
|||||
| Attitudes toward primary care | |||||
| I would like to become a primary care doctor in the future | 3.14 | 3.04 | 2.93 | 2.96 | NS |
| I am more interested in learning the skills required for my chosen specialty rather than a general set of clinical practice skills | 2.78 | 2.97 | 2.85 | 2.81 | NS |
| Primary care knowledge is useful for all medical students | 4.76 | 4.59 | 4.67 | 4.67 | NS |
| Primary care should be a patient's first contact with the health care system | 4.40 | 4.37 | 4.36 | 4.37 | NS |
| Medical interviewing is a fundamental tool for all medical students to learn | 4.88 | 4.81 | 4.83 | 4.84 | NS |
| Preventative care knowledge is essential for all medical students to learn | 4.81 | 4.73 | 4.50 | 4.53 | <0.001** |
| It is essential that medical students learn how to best communicate with patients | 4.88 | 4.84 | 4.87 | 4.86 | NS |
| Primary care doctors mostly manage chronic health problems | 3.22 | 3.32 | 3.75 | 3.78 | <0.001** |
| It is impossible to be an expert in such a wide field as primary care | 2.73 | 2.81 | 2.98 | 3.01 | 0.085 |
| Primary care is not very intellectually stimulating | 1.89 | 2.04 | 2.2 | 2.21 | 0.009** |
| Primary care doctors have a large work overload | 3.60 | 3.60 | 3.95 | 3.95 | 0.001** |
| Primary care doctors are poorly valued by the rest of the medical profession | 3.47 | 3.43 | 3.81 | 3.78 | 0.015* |
| A primary care doctor is clinically competent to provide most the health care an individual may require | 3.99 | 3.90 | 4.02 | 4.01 | NS |
*
Significant at the 0.05 level
**
Significant at the 0.01 level
Likert Scale (1=‘Not important at all’; 5=‘Very Important’). Differences tested via Kruskall–Wallis test; p below 0.10 displayed; NS=Not Significant.