Table 4.
Comparison of MS Groups at same time points on responses to matrix questions about career choices
| Items | MS1 T1 | M2 T1 | p | Ms1 T2 | MS2 T2 | p | MS3 T3 | MS4 T3 | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
How important are the following factors in considering your career in medicine? | |||||||||
| Opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives |
4.89 |
4.83 |
NS |
4.88 |
4.83 |
NS |
4.71 |
4.66 |
NS |
| Intellectual climate |
4.41 |
4.52 |
NS |
4.41 |
4.47 |
NS |
4.23 |
4.13 |
NS |
| Desire to do primary care |
3.04 |
2.74 |
.062 |
3.03 |
2.75 |
.074 |
3.04 |
2.88 |
NS |
| Availability of jobs |
3.55 |
3.86 |
.032* |
3.54 |
3.84 |
.44* |
4.26 |
3.90 |
.025* |
| Job security |
3.80 |
4.03 |
.099 |
3.80 |
4.00 |
NS |
4.40 |
4.30 |
NS |
| Opportunity to help patients who are socially disadvantaged |
4.71 |
3.89 |
.034* |
4.15 |
3.90 |
.051* |
3.84 |
3.51 |
.060 |
| Desire to serve my community |
4.42 |
4.32 |
NS |
4.39 |
4.33 |
NS |
4.23 |
3.66 |
<.001* |
| High income potential |
2.82 |
3.36 |
<.001** |
2.82 |
3.32 |
<.001** |
3.45 |
3.25 |
NS |
| Job satisfaction |
4.76 |
4.75 |
NS |
4.77 |
4.77 |
NS |
4.84 |
4.78 |
NS |
| Status of physicians |
2.69 |
2.97 |
.088 |
2.65 |
2.86 |
NS |
2.84 |
2.80 |
NS |
|
How important are the following factors in considering your choice for a specialty? | |||||||||
| Income expectations for the specialty |
2.81 |
3.27 |
.002** |
2.76 |
3.23 |
.001** |
3.43 |
3.15 |
NS |
| Amount of education debt I have |
2.81 |
3.04 |
NS |
2.83 |
2.99 |
NS |
3.30 |
3.09 |
NS |
| Ability to balance my work life with my family responsibilities |
4.37 |
4.62 |
.013* |
4.38 |
4.60 |
.026* |
4.53 |
4.44 |
NS |
| Content of the specialty |
4.69 |
4.70 |
NS |
4.71 |
4.69 |
NS |
4.59 |
4.70 |
NS |
| Competitiveness of the specialty |
3.13 |
3.07 |
NS |
3.11 |
3.06 |
NS |
2.91 |
2.74 |
NS |
| Options for fellowship training associated with the specialty |
3.25 |
3.47 |
NS |
3.24 |
3.40 |
NS |
3.51 |
3.58 |
NS |
| Length of residency training associated with the specialty |
3.18 |
3.44 |
.080 |
3.17 |
3.48 |
.040* |
3.48 |
2.98 |
.008** |
| The lifestyle of the specialty I am considering |
4.20 |
4.42 |
.066 |
4.20 |
4.38 |
NS |
4.36 |
4.16 |
NS |
| Prestige of the specialty I am considering |
2.20 |
2.49 |
.042* |
2.17 |
2.42 |
.072 |
2.41 |
2.59 |
NS |
| Career workshops and courses |
2.66 |
2.53 |
NS |
2.63 |
5.47 |
NS |
2.71 |
2.36 |
.054* |
| Opportunities to do research in this specialty |
2.58 |
2.42 |
NS |
2.57 |
2.38 |
NS |
3.37 |
3.10 |
NS |
| Opportunities to provide care to underserved populations |
3.43 |
3.28 |
NS |
3.41 |
3.28 |
NS |
3.37 |
3.10 |
NS |
|
Attitudes toward primary care | |||||||||
| I would like to become a primary care doctor in the future. |
3.12 |
2.97 |
NS |
3.11 |
3.13 |
NS |
3.13 |
2.62 |
.024* |
| I am more interested in learning the skills required for my chosen specialty rather than a general set |
2.79 |
2.82 |
NS |
2.75 |
2.69 |
NS |
2.69 |
3.45 |
<.001* |
| Primary care knowledge is useful for all medical students. |
4.75 |
4.68 |
NS |
4.75 |
4.70 |
NS |
4.70 |
4.75 |
NS |
| Primary care should be a patient’s first contact with the health care system. |
4.39 |
4.36 |
NS |
4.38 |
4.68 |
NS |
4.68 |
4.47 |
.060 |
| Medical interviewing is a fundamental tool for all medical students to learn. |
4.89 |
4.83 |
NS |
4.92 |
4.87 |
.062 |
4.87 |
4.88 |
NS |
| Preventative care knowledge is essential for all medical students to learn. |
4.83 |
4.53 |
<.000** |
4.85 |
4.70 |
<.001** |
4.70 |
4.67 |
NS |
| It is essential that medical students learn how to best communicate with patients |
4.89 |
4.86 |
NS |
4.91 |
4.89 |
NS |
4.89 |
4.87 |
NS |
| Primary care doctors mostly manage chronic health problems. |
3.26 |
3.79 |
<.001** |
3.25 |
3.89 |
<.001** |
3.89 |
3.81 |
NS |
| It is impossible to be an expert in such a wide field as primary care |
2.69 |
3.0 |
.035* |
2.69 |
2.97 |
.016* |
2.97 |
3.31 |
0.76 |
| Primary care is not very intellectually stimulating |
1.90 |
2.22 |
.010* |
1.91 |
2.47 |
.014* |
2.47 |
2.58 |
NS |
| Primary care doctors have a large work overload. |
3.63 |
3.95 |
.006** |
3.63 |
4.15 |
.005** |
4.15 |
4.05 |
NS |
| Primary care doctors are poorly valued by the rest of the medical profession. |
3.48 |
3.76 |
0.22* |
3.49 |
3.78 |
.033* |
3.78 |
3.77 |
NS |
| A primary care doctor is clinically competent to provide most of the health care an individual may | 3.96 | 3.99 | NS | 3.94 | 4.36 | NS | 4.36 | 4.36 | 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. Values equal to or less than p = .10 shown.