Understanding the Factors Influencing Junior Doctors' Career Decision-Making to Address Rural Workforce Issues: Testing a Conceptual Framework

Twelve tips for having more meaningful conversations with medical students on specialty career choice

Making a career choice is a multifaceted process and support for medical students on career choice is pivotal. Not all medical schools have programs or guidelines to support having meaningful conversations with medical students. However, medical students have questions and are seeking answers. This article presents twelve tips for having meaningful conversations with medical students for educators, mentors and internship tutors. The twelve tips have been grouped into three categories: the conversation, the reflection and the actions students can take in the process of their specialty career choice.

Medical Specialty Interest Survey (MSIS): understanding career interest and specialty training in commencing Australian medical interns

AIM

To assess specialisation interests in commencing interns and create a standardised survey to aid medical schools, supervisors and health services in quantifying, understanding and supporting medical career development to improve medical workforce planning.

METHOD

The Medical Specialty Interest Survey (MSIS) cross-sectional study was used. Incoming interns at a multisite tertiary hospital network in Melbourne, Australia rated their desire to pursue each specialty as a career using a Likert scale (1-5). 47 Medical Board of Australia Medical Specialties were included in the survey.

RESULTS

Completion rate was 123 of 124 (99.2%). The overall mean desirability was 2.62, suggesting on average more specialties were deemed less preferred. Critical care specialties were most popular, while surgical specialties had least interest. Gastroenterology and cardiology were most popular among internal medicine specialties. General practice had low correlation with other specialties (Pearson correlation mean R coefficient 0.106 compared with overall mean 0.208), suggesting interns interested in general practice exhibit less interest in other specialties, and interest in specialisation confers low interest in general practice. Psychiatry had the lowest mean R coefficient of 0.088.

CONCLUSIONS

The MSIS quantifies relative interest in 47 medical specialties and specialty interest correlations among final-year medical students/incoming interns. The MSIS may be a tool for medical schools, healthcare services and government agencies to better understand the career interest among medical students and pre-vocational doctors and therefore improve doctor retention and well-being.

The ties that bind: Social network analysis describes the social element of medical workforce recruitment to rural/remote Australia

We present the argument that medical recruitment to a previously under-recruited remote town was effected through what Social Network Analysis (SNA) measures as "brokerage" which operates amidst "structural holes". We proposed that medical graduates being generated by the national Rural Health School movement in Australia were particularly affected by the combined effect of workforce lacks (structural holes) and strong social commitments (brokerage) - all key SNA concepts. We therefore chose SNA to assess whether the characteristics of RCS-related rural recruitment had feature that SNA might be able to identify, as operantly measured using the industry-standard UCINET's suite of statistical and graphical tools. The result was clear. Graphical output from the UCINET editor showed one individual as being central to all recently recruited doctors to one rural town with recruitment issues like all the others. The statistical outputs from UCINET characterised this person as the single point of most connections. The real-world engagements of this central doctor were in accord with the description of brokerage, a core SNA construct, relationship with reported the reason for these new graduates both coming and staying in town. SNA thus proved fruitful in this first quantification of the role of social networks in drawing new medical recruits to particular rural towns. It allowed description at the level of individual actors with a potent influence on recruitment to rural Australia. We propose these measures could be helpful as key performance indicators for the national Rural Clinical School programme that is generating and distributing a large workforce in Australia, which appears from this work to have a strong social basis. This redistribution of medical workforce from urban to rural is needed internationally.

Using social network analysis approach in developing rural psychiatrist workforce

OBJECTIVE

This study examines how rural and remote junior doctors career decisions are influenced by highly connected principles within a discipline.

METHODS

Social network analysis was completed with data collected, by structured interview, with five psychiatry trainees and three early career psychiatrists in a rural location rated MM3 using the Modified Monash Model. UNICET software was used to determine the interactions between individual networks to look for overlap and common influencers.

RESULTS

A single central, highly connected, psychiatrist was found at the core of the entire social network. This connector was instrumental in recruitment and retention in rural psychiatry workforce.

CONCLUSION

Improving the understanding of human capital can encourage innovative solutions in developing sustainable strategies for recruiting and retaining rural psychiatry workforces.

How do foundation year and internship experience shape doctors' career intentions and decisions? A meta-ethnography

PURPOSE

Foundation years or internships are an important period for junior doctors to apply their knowledge and gain clinical competency. Experiences gained during the foundation years or internships are likely to inform newly qualified doctors' opinions about how they want to continue their career. We aimed to understand how medical doctors' internship experiences influence their career intention/decision.

METHODS

We conducted qualitative evidence synthesis using meta-ethnography. We searched six electronic bibliographic databases for papers published between 2000-2020 and included papers exploring how foundation years or internship experiences shape doctors' career intention/decisions, including in relation to migration, public/private/dual practice preference, rural/urban preference, and specialty choice. We used the GRADE-CERQual framework to rate confidence in review findings.

RESULTS

We examined 23 papers out of 6085 citations screened. We abstracted three high-level inter-related themes across 14 conceptual categories: (1) Deciding the personal best fit both clinically and in general (which option is 'more me'?) through hands-on and real-life experiences (2) Exploring, experiencing and witnessing workplace norms; and (3) Worrying about the future in terms of job market policies, future training and professional development opportunities. Confidence in findings varied but was rated high in 8 conceptual categories.

CONCLUSIONS

Our meta-ethnographic review revealed a range of ways in which internship experience shapes medical doctors' career intentions/decisions allowing us to produce a broad conceptual model of this phenomenon. The results highlight the importance of ensuring sufficient, positive and inspiring clinical exposure, improving workplace environment, relationship and culture, refraining from undermining specific specialities and communicating contractual and job market policies early on to young doctors, in order to attract doctors to less popular specialties or work locations where they are most needed. We propose our conceptual model should be further tested in new research across a range of contexts.

Experiences of working as early career allied health professionals and doctors in rural and remote environments: a qualitative systematic review

Background

Maintaining a health professional workforce in rural and remote areas poses a significant challenge internationally. A range of recruitment and retention strategies have had varying success and these are  generally developed from the collective experience of all health professions, rather than targeted to professional groups with differing educational and support contexts. This review explores, compares and synthesises the evidence examining the experience of early career rural and remote allied health professionals and doctors to better understand both the profession specific, and common factors that influence their experience.

Methods

Qualitative studies that include early career allied health professionals’ or doctors’ experiences of working in rural or remote areas and the personal and professional factors that impact on this experience were considered. A systematic search was completed across five databases and three grey literature repositories to identify published and unpublished studies. Studies published since 2000 in English were considered. Studies were screened for inclusion and critically appraised by two independent reviewers. Data was extracted and assigned a level of credibility. Data synthesis adhered to the JBI meta-aggregative approach.

Results

Of the 1408 identified articles, 30 papers were eligible for inclusion, with one rated as low in quality and all others moderate or high quality. A total of 23 categories, 334 findings and illustrations were aggregated into three synthesised findings for both professional groups including: making a difference through professional and organisational factors, working in rural areas can offer unique and rewarding opportunities for early career allied health professionals and doctors, and personal and community influences make a difference. A rich dataset was obtained and findings illustrate similarities including the need to consider personal factors, and differences, including discipline specific supervision for allied health professionals and local supervision for doctors.

Conclusions

Strategies to enhance the experience of both allied health professionals and doctors in rural and remote areas include enabling career paths through structured training programs, hands on learning opportunities, quality supervision and community immersion.

Systematic review registration number

PROSPERO CRD42021223187.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-08261-2.

Analysis of factors affecting medical personnel seeking employment at primary health care institutions: developing human resources for primary health care

Background

The serious shortage of human resources for primary health care (PHC) is a common issue in health reforms worldwide. China has proposed that it is an effective way to encourage and guide qualified medical personnel to work in primary health care institutions (PHCIs). However, few studies have been conducted on the willingness and influencing factors of medical personnel to seek employment at PHCIs.

Methods

Based on implicit theory and lexical approach, pre-investigation was conducted to collect the items that influence the medical personnel to seek employment at PHCIs from the perspective of guided objects. Through a three-phase investigation of 1160 doctors in 29 public hospitals in 9 cities, the items were categorized, and a structural equation model was established and verified to explore the interrelationship of influencing factors.

Results

A total of 6 factors were rotated, including Sense of Gain (SG), Internal Organization Development (IOD), Remuneration and Development (RD), Condition of the City Where the PHCI Is Located (CCPL), Job Responsibilities (JR) and Family Support (FS). The results of the model showed that IOD, RD, JR and FS had a significantly positive effect on the SG. In addition, the FS, RD and JR significantly mediated the relationship between the internal and external environment of PHCIs and SG. The values of the fit index indicated an acceptable-fitting model.

Conclusion

Family, remuneration, individual development, and job responsibility are closely related to the willingness of medical personnel to seek employment at PHCIs, and the internal and external environment of PHCIs is also an important factor. Therefore, the development of PHC providers can be promoted by paying attention to the family members of medical personnel, establishing a reasonable remuneration system, providing suitable development opportunities, arranging work rationally and improving the internal construction of PHCIs.

Factors associated with the rural and remote practice of medical workforce in Maluku Islands of Indonesia: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Many factors contribute to engagement in rural and remote (RR) medical practice, but little is known about the factors associated with rural and remote medical practice in such remote locations as the Maluku Province of Indonesia. This study describes factors associated with actual RR practice, preferred RR practice, and intention to remain practice in Maluku Province.

METHODS

An online survey of work-related experience and intentions for future rural work was administered to 410 doctors working in the Maluku province of Indonesia. Participant characteristics were described using descriptive statistics, associations between the independent variables with the location of the workforce, intention to remain practice in Maluku, preference for future RR practice in Maluku were analysed using Chi-square tests and logistic regression.

RESULTS

A total of 324 responses (79% response rate) were recorded, comprising 70% females and 30% Pattimura University graduates of doctors employed in Maluku. Doctors working in RR areas were more likely to be a GP (OR 3.49, CI 1.03-11.8), have a monthly salary of more than IDR 6 million (OR 11.5, CI 4.24-31.1), and have no additional practice (OR 2.78, CI 1.34-5.78). Doctors intended to stay practice in Maluku were more likely to be born in Maluku (OR 7.77, CI 3.42-17.7) and have graduated from Pattimura University (OR 3.06, CI 1.09-8.54), and less likely to be a temporary employee (OR 0.24, CI 0.10-0.57). Doctors who prefer future RR practice in Maluku were more likely to experience rural living (OR 2.05 CI 1.05-3.99), have a positive indication of the impact of community exposure during medical schools on their current practice (OR 2.08, CI 1.06-4.09), currently practising in RR Maluku (OR 8.23, CI 3.27-20.8); and less likely to have bigger take-home pay (OR 0.30, CI 0.13-0.70).

CONCLUSION

This study indicates that special attention should be given to recruiting doctors with a rural background and ongoing support through attractive opportunities to build a sustainable RR workforce. Since a regional medical school helps supply doctors to the RR areas in its region, a sustained collaboration between medical schools and local government implementing relevant strategies are needed to widen participation and improve the recruitment and retention of RR doctors.

Importance of attachment to place in growing a sustainable Australian Rural Health Workforce: A rapid review

INTRODUCTION

Personal, community, and environmental factors can influence the attraction and retention of regional, rural, and remote health workers. However, the concept of place attachment needs further attention as a factor affecting the sustainability of the rural health workforce.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this rapid review was to explore the influence of a sense of place in attracting and retaining health professionals in rural and remote areas.

DESIGN

A systematic rapid review was conducted based on an empirical model using four dimensions: place dependence, place identity, social bonding and nature bonding. English-language publications between 2011 and 2021 were sought from academic databases, including studies relevant to Australian health professionals.

FINDINGS

A total of 348 articles were screened and 52 included in the review. Place attachment factors varied across disciplines and included (a) intrinsic place-based personal factors; (b) learning experiences enhancing self-efficacy and rural health work interest; (c) relational, social and community integration; and (d) connection to place with lifestyle aspirations.

DISCUSSION

This rapid review provides insight into the role of relational connections in building a health workforce and suggests that community factors are important in building attachment through social bonding and place identity. Results indicate that future health workforce research should focus on career decision-making and psychological appraisals including place attachment.

CONCLUSION

An attachment to place might develop through placement experiences or from a strong rural upbringing. The importance of the relational interactions within a work community and the broader community is seen as an important factor in attracting, recruiting, and sustaining a rural health workforce.

Completing the RANZCP scholarly project in a rural/regional setting: a practical example

OBJECTIVE

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) scholarly project (SP) is a major hurdle for trainees completing psychiatric training - intensified for those working in rural settings. Whilst strategies to overcome this challenge have been proposed, there are few examples of how these have been successfully implemented. This report will describe the completion of a RANZCP SP in a regional setting, with supervision and support provided by an academic psychiatrist working within a metropolitan research centre.

CONCLUSION

Trainees in remote geographical locations can utilise expert supervision from academic psychiatrists to successfully complete the SP. Key components are support from both the trainee and supervisor's employers, utilisation of a range of supervision modalities and a clear pragmatic memorandum of understanding between the supervisor and trainee. This initiative had widespread benefits beyond completion of the SP for all parties involved.

Intention mutability and translation of rural intention into actual rural medical practice

BACKGROUND

Rural intention and experience during medical school have been related to subsequent rural work. However, their relative contributions and the timing of their effects are not known. These data are critical to effective educational interventions able to improve rural medical workforce numbers, an international priority.

METHODS

Participants were graduates of an Australian MBBS degree between 2006 and 2016, who completed both entry and exit surveys approved by the Medical Deans of Australia, including workplace intention data. Rural/urban workplace intention changes from entry to exit were analysed using multinomial logistic regression. Binary logistic regression was used to assess actual rural versus urban work, obtained from a public practitioner registration website.

RESULTS

Of 547 eligible undergraduates, 169 completed a year-long rural clinical school (RCS). A subset of 93 of the 547 graduates practiced rurally, of whom 42 had completed RCS. Both rural background and RCS predicted rural practice intention; both were also significantly related to actual rural work. Enduring rural intention was associated with nearly sevenfold odds of actually practicing rurally, compared with an enduring urban intention. Those who changed practice intention from entry to exit were more likely to practice in the region of their exit intention. Of special note: Rural Clinical School of Western Australia (RCSWA) exposure particularly affects urban origin students such that the odds of changing from an urban to a rural orientation immediately after their rural experience were more than fourfold higher than those not so participating.

DISCUSSION

Both intention and RCSWA experience are associated with subsequent rural work. The impacts of RCSWA were able to be localised after the rural educational experience. Amongst those with mutable intention, exit intention was that most strongly related to actual work, suggesting this as the most reliable point to select for further rural training.

Data Analysis Model Design of Health Service Monitoring System for China's Elderly Population: The Proposal of the F-W Model Based on the Collaborative Governance Theory of Healthy Aging

In the era of artificial intelligence, big data and 5G, health care for elderly people is facing an important digital transformation. The objective of this study is to design the data analysis module of the elderly health service monitoring system (HSMS) and attempt to put forward a new healthy aging (HA) model that is applicable not only to the individual HA, but also to the regional HA system. Based on the HA theory of collaborative governance, we divided the elderly HSMS into four modules, including physical health, mental health, ability of daily activity, and social participation. Then, factors that influence HA were assessed by stepwise logistic regression to build the analysis model, using the public micro-panel data of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS). Age (odds ratio (OR) = 1.55 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–2.27)), living in urban areas (OR = 1.57 (95% CI: 1.03–2.39)), being literate (OR = 1.51 (95% CI: 1.01–2.23)), expecting to get long-term health care in the future from their grown children (OR = 1.69 (95% CI: 1.10–2.61)) and having literate grown children (OR = 2.01 (95% CI: 0.26–0.97)) had a significant positive impact on HA of elderly people. Therefore, the F-W (factors and weighs, also family and welfare) model is proposed in this paper. The outcomes can contribute with designing HSMS for different provinces and several different regions in China and leave a door open to improve the model and algorithm application for HSMS in the future studies.

A Realist Evaluation of Theory about Triggers for Doctors Choosing a Generalist or Specialist Medical Career

There is a lack of theory about what drives choice to be a generalist or specialist doctor, an important issue in many countries for increasing primary/preventative care. We did a realist evaluation to develop a theory to inform what works for whom, when and in what contexts, to yield doctors’ choice to be a generalist or specialist. We interviewed 32 Australian doctors (graduates of a large university medical school) who had decided on a generalist (GP/public health) or specialist (all other specialties) career. They reflected on their personal responses to experiences at different times to stimulate their choice. Theory was refined and confirmed by testing it with 17 additional doctors of various specialties/career stages and by referring to wider literature. Our final theory showed the decision involved multi-level contextual factors intersecting with eight triggers to produce either a specialist or generalist choice. Both clinical and place-based exposures, as well as attributes, skills, norms and status of different fields affected choice. This occurred relative to the interests and expectations of different doctors, including their values for professional, socio-economic and lifestyle rewards, often intersecting with issues like gender and life stage. Applying this theory, it is possible to tailor selection and ongoing exposures to yield more generalists.

Exploring preference for, and uptake of, rural medical internships, a key issue for supporting rural training pathways

Background

Improved medical care access for rural populations continues to be a major concern. There remains little published evidence about postgraduate rural pathways of junior doctors, which may have strong implications for a long-term skilled rural workforce. This exploratory study describes and compares preferences for, and uptake of, rural internships by new domestic and international graduates of Victorian medical schools during a period of rural internship position expansion.

Methods

We used administrative data of all new Victorian medical graduates’ location preference and accepted location of internship positions for 2013–16. Associations between preferred internship location and accepted internship position were explored including by rurality and year. Moreover, data were stratified between ‘domestic graduates’ (Australian and New Zealand citizens or permanent residents) and ‘international graduates’ (temporary residents who graduated from an Australian university).

Results

Across 2013–16, there were 4562 applicants who filled 3130 internship positions (46% oversubscribed). Domestic graduates filled most (69.7%, 457/656) rural internship positions, but significantly less than metropolitan positions (92.2%, p < 0.001). Only 20.1% (551/2737) included a rural location in their top five preferences, less than for international graduates (34.4%, p < 0.001). A greater proportion of rural compared with metropolitan interns accepted a position not in their top five preferences (36.1% versus 7.4%, p < 0.001). The proportion nominating a rural location in their preference list increased across 2013–2016.

Conclusions

The preferences for, and uptake of, rural internship positions by domestic graduates is sub-optimal for growing a rural workforce from local graduates. Current actions that have increased the number of rural positions are unlikely to be sufficient as a stand-alone intervention, thus regional areas must rely on international graduates. Strategies are needed to increase the attractiveness of rural internships for domestic students so that more graduates from rural undergraduate medical training are retained rurally. Further research could explore whether the uptake of rural internships is facilitated by aligning these positions with protected opportunities to continue vocational training in regionally-based or metropolitan fellowships. Increased understanding is needed of the factors impacting work location decisions of junior doctors, particularly those with some rural career intent.

Context Matters: Findings from a Qualitative Study Exploring Service and Place Factors Influencing the Recruitment and Retention of Allied Health Professionals in Rural Australian Public Health Services

Chronic health workforce shortages significantly contribute to unmet health care needs in rural and remote communities. Of particular and growing concern are shortages of allied health professionals (AHPs). This study explored the contextual factors impacting the recruitment and retention of AHPs in rural Australia. A qualitative approach using a constructivist-interpretivist methodology was taken. Semi-structured interviews (n = 74) with executive staff, allied health (AH) managers and newly recruited AHPs working in two rural public health services in Victoria, Australia were conducted. Data was coded and categorised inductively and analysed thematically. The findings suggest that to support a stable and sustainable AH workforce, rural public sector health services need to be more efficient, strategic and visionary. This means ensuring that policies and procedures are equitable and accessible, processes are effective, and action is taken to develop local programs, opportunities and supports that allow AH staff to thrive and grow in place at all grade levels and life stages. This study reinforces the need for a whole-of-community approach to effectively support individual AH workers and their family members in adjusting to a new place and developing a sense of belonging in place. The recommendations arising from this study are likely to have utility for other high-income countries, particularly in guiding AH recruitment and retention strategies in rural public sector health services. Recommendations relating to community/place will likely benefit broader rural health workforce initiatives.

Extending a Conceptual Framework for Junior Doctors' Career Decision Making and Rural Careers: Explorers versus Planners and Finding the 'Right Fit'

This study uses data from a Rural Clinical School of Western Australia (RCSWA) and WA Country Health (WACHS) study on rural work intentions among junior doctors to explore their internal decision-making processes and gain a better understanding of how junior doctors make decisions along their career pathway. This was a qualitative study involving junior doctor participants in postgraduate years (PGY) 1 to 5 undergoing training in Western Australia (WA). Data was collected through semi-structured telephone interviews. Two main themes were identified: career decision-making as an on-going process; and early career doctors’ internal decision-making process, which fell broadly into two groups (‘explorers’ and ‘planners’). Both groups of junior doctors require ongoing personalised career advice, training pathways, and career development opportunities that best “fit” their internal decision-making processes for the purposes of enhancing rural workforce outcomes.