Table 1. Characteristics of participants (n = 729), graduates of The University of Queensland Medical program between 2002–2011.
| Mean (Standard deviation) or n (%) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | n with responses | All | Specialist (n = 359) |
General Practice (n = 224) |
Prevocational (n = 144) |
| Age (years) | 727 | 33.3 (5.6) | 33.2 (4.2) | 35.5 (6.3) | 30.7 (7.1) |
| Female | 729 | 380 (52.1%)f | 172 (47.9%) | 133 (59.4%) | 73 (50.7%) |
| Rural backgrounda | 729 | 233 (32.0%)f | 106 (29.5%) | 91 (40.6%) | 35 (24.3%) |
| Duration of rural residence prior to Medical School | 729 | ||||
| <5 years (ie Metropolitan background) | 496 (68.0%)f | 253 (70.5%) | 133 (59.4%) | 109 (75.7%) | |
| 5 to < 10 years | 72 (9.9%) | 35 (9.8%) | 31 (13.8%) | 6 (4.2%) | |
| 10 to <15 years | 119 (16.3%) | 55 (15.3%) | 41 (18.3%) | 23 (16.0%) | |
| ≥15 years | 42 (5.8%)f | 16 (4.5%) | 19 (8.5%) | 6 (4.2%) | |
| Regional or Remote background | 729 | ||||
| Regional (ASGC-RAb2–3) | 115 (15.8%) | 56 (15.6%) | 39 (17.4%) | 20 (13.9%) | |
| Remote (ASGC-RA4-5) | 118 (16.2%)f | 50 (13.9%) | 52 (23.2%) | 15 (10.4%) | |
| Parent with rural background | |||||
| Father | 725 | 227 (31.3%)f | 104 (29.1%) | 89 (39.7%) | 33 (23.4%) |
| Mother | 719 | 217 (30.2%)f | 92 (25.9%) | 86 (38.6%) | 38 (27.3%) |
| Single | 722 | 180 (24.9%) | 89 (25.1%) | 34 (15.4%) | 57 (39.6%) |
| Partner with rural background | 722 | 145 (20.1%)f | 56 (15.8%) | 69 (31.2%) | 19 (13.2%) |
| Bonded scholarship | 715 | 81 (11.3%)f | 28 (7.9%) | 37 (16.7%) | 15 (10.8%) |
| RCSc attendance | 729 | ||||
| One year | 165 (22.6%) | 94 (26.2%) | 46 (20.5%) | 25 (17.4%) | |
| Two years | 110 (15.1%)f | 45 (12.5%) | 47 (21.0%) | 17 (11.8%) | |
| None (MCSd) | 454 (62.3%)f | 220 (61.3%) | 131 (58.5%) | 102 (70.8%) | |
| Background and RCS attendance | 729 | ||||
| Metropolitan background and MCS | 340 (46.6%)f | 162 (45.1%) | 92 (41.1%) | 85 (59.0%) | |
| Rural background and MCS | 114 (15.6%) | 58 (16.2%) | 39 (17.4%) | 17 (11.8%) | |
| Metropolitan background and RCS | 156 (21.4%) | 91 (25.4%) | 41 (18.3%) | 24 (16.7%) | |
| Rural background and RCS | 119 (16.3%)f | 48 (13.4%) | 52 (23.2%) | 18 (12.5%) | |
| Graduated from 2007 | 729 | 444 (60.9%)f | 199 (55.4%) | 104 (46.4%) | 139 (96.5%) |
| Current clinical practice location | 729 | ||||
| ASGC-RA1 (Metropolitan) | 515 (70.7%)f | 284 (79.1%) | 126 (56.3%) | 104 (72.2%) | |
| ASGC-RA2 (Inner Regional) | 102 (14.0%)f | 31 (8.6%) | 50 (22.3%) | 20 (13.9%) | |
| ASGC-RA3 (Outer Regional) | 75 (10.3%) | 32 (8.9%) | 27 (12.1%) | 16 (11.1%) | |
| ASGC-RA4-5 (Remote/Very Remote) | 23 (3.1%) | 4 (1.1%) | 17 (7.6%) | 2 (1.4%) | |
| Overseas | 14 (1.9%) | 8 (2.2%) | 4 (1.8%) | 2 (1.4%) | |
| Longer-term rural practicee | 727 | 172 (23.7%) | 56 (15.6%) | 88 (39.3%) | 28 (19.4%) |
a Resided at least five years since beginning primary school in locations classified as rural, prior to commencing medical school.
bASGC-RA, Australian Standard Geographical Classification-Remoteness Area
cRural Clinical School.
dMetropolitan Clinical School
e Rural practice ≥50% of time since graduation.
f Two graduates had missing information on postgraduate status hence only appear in the All column