Medical graduates' early career choices of specialty and their eventual specialty destinations: UK prospective cohort studies.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To report on doctors' early choices of specialty at selected intervals after qualification, and eventual career destinations.

Design

Questionnaire surveys.

Setting

United Kingdom.

Participants

Total of 15 759 doctors who qualified in 1974, 1977, 1983, 1993, and 1996, and their career destinations 10 years after graduation.

Results

15 759 doctors were surveyed one and three years after graduation and 12 108 five years after graduation. Career preferences at years 1, 3, and 5, and destinations at 10 years, were known for, respectively, 64% (n=10 154), 62% (n=9702), and 61% (n=7429) of the survey population. In the 1993 and 1996 cohorts, career destinations matched with year 1 choices for 54% (1890/3508) of doctors in year 1, 70% (2494/3579) in ye

SUBMITTER: Goldacre MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2897977 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature