Dataset Information

Factors Influencing US Allopathic Medical Students to Choose Pathology as a Specialty.

ABSTRACT: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the crucial role of pathologists in the health care system at a time of significant decline in the number of US medical students matching to pathology residency positions. To understand this decline, a national survey of fourth-year US allopathic medical students was conducted to assess experiences, knowledge, and attitudes of pathology and factors that impact specialty choice. Participating in a separate pathology course did not increase the probability of choosing pathology. Experiences significantly associated with choosing pathology included clinical or research opportunities in pathology during the last 2 years of medical school, autopsy observation/participation, and participation in pathology interest groups. Many respondents felt they were not sufficiently exposed to pathology to consider it as a specialty. Those who considered pathology but did not choose it were less likely to report understanding the activities of pathologists and being recruited by pathology faculty and more likely to express a preference for more direct patient contact as compared to those entering pathology. In general, respondents agreed that pathology has a good work-life balance and a satisfying degree of intellectual challenge. On the other hand, respondents generally agreed that information on social media and perception of the pathology job market do not seem to be positive and few agreed that pathology is a highly regarded specialty. We identify steps to address these issues and increase the number of US medical students choosing pathology as a specialty crucial to the future of medicine and public health.

SUBMITTER: McCloskey CB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7557358 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Factors Influencing US Allopathic Medical Students to Choose Pathology as a Specialty.

McCloskey Cindy B CB Johnson Kristen K Brissette Mark M Conran Richard R Childs John J George Melissa M Gratzinger Dita D Prieto Victor G VG Rojiani Amyn M AM Shyu Irene I Timmons Charles C Hoffman Robert R

Academic pathology 20200101

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the crucial role of pathologists in the health care system at a time of significant decline in the number of US medical students matching to pathology residency positions. To understand this decline, a national survey of fourth-year US allopathic medical students was conducted to assess experiences, knowledge, and attitudes of pathology and factors that impact specialty choice. Participating in a separate pathology course did not increase the probability o ...[more]

PMID: 33110939

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Project description:BackgroundChoosing a medical specialty is an important, complex, and not fully understood process. The present study investigated the factors that are related to choosing and rejecting medical specialties in a group of students and recent medical doctors.Methodology and findingsA cross-sectional survey of 1,223 medical students and doctors was performed in Brazil in 2012. A standardized literature-based questionnaire was applied that gathered preferable or rejected specialties, and asked questions about extracurricular experiences and the influence of 14 factors on a Likert-type scale from 0 to 4. Specialties were grouped according to lifestyle categories: controllable and uncontrollable, which were subdivided into primary care, internal medicine, and surgical specialties. Notably, the time period of rejection was usually earlier than the time period of intended choice (p < 0.0001, χ(2) = 107.2). The choice mainly occurred during the internship period in medical school (n = 466; 38.7%). An overall large frequency of participation in extracurricular activities was observed (n = 1,184; 95.8%), which were highly associated with the respective medical area. Orthopedic surgery had the highest correlation with participation in specialty-specific organized groups (OR = 59.9, 95% CI = 21.6-166.3) and psychiatry was correlated with participation in research groups (OR = 18.0, 95% CI = 9.0-36.2). With regard to influential factors in controllable lifestyle specialties, "financial reason" (mean score ± standard deviation: 2.8 ± 1.0; median = 3) and "personal time" (3.1 ± 1.3; median = 4) were important factors. In primary care, these factors were less important (1.7 ± 1.3 and 1.7 ± 1.5, respectively; median = 2 for both), and higher scores were observed for "curricular internship" (3.2 ± 1.1, median = 4) and "social commitment" (2.6 ± 1.3, median = 3).ConclusionThe present findings provide important insights into developing strategies to stimulate interest in specialties based on the needs of the Brazilian healthcare system.

Project description:ImportanceDermatology is one of the least diverse specialties, while patients from minority racial and ethnic groups and other underserved populations continue to face numerous dermatology-specific health and health care access disparities in the US.ObjectivesTo examine the demographic characteristics and intended career goals of graduating US allopathic medical students pursuing careers in dermatology compared with those pursuing other specialties and whether these differ by sex, race and ethnicity, and/or sexual orientation.Design, setting, and participantsThis secondary analysis of a repeated cross-sectional study included 58 077 graduating allopathic medical students using data from the 2016 to 2019 Association of American Medical Colleges Graduation Questionnaires.Main outcomes and measuresThe proportion of female students, students from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine (URM), and sexual minority (SM) students pursuing dermatology vs pursuing other specialties. The proportions and multivariable-adjusted odds of intended career goals between students pursuing dermatology and those pursuing other specialties and by sex, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation among students pursuing dermatology.ResultsA total of 58 077 graduating students were included, with 28 489 (49.0%) female students, 8447 (14.5%) URM students, and 3641 (6.3%) SM students. Female students pursuing dermatology were less likely than female students pursuing other specialties to identify as URM (96 of 829 [11.6%] vs 4760 of 27 660 [17.2%]; P < .001) or SM (16 [1.9%] vs 1564 [5.7%]; P < .001). In multivariable-adjusted analyses, students pursuing dermatology compared with other specialties had decreased odds of intending to care for underserved populations (247 of 1350 [18.3%] vs 19 142 of 56 343 [34.0%]; adjusted odd ratio [aOR], 0.40; 95% CI, 0.35-0.47; P < .001), practice in underserved areas (172 [12.7%] vs 14 570 [25.9%]; aOR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.34-0.47; P < .001), and practice public health (230 [17.0%] vs 17 028 [30.2%]; aOR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.38-0.51; P < .001) but increased odds of pursuing research (874 [64.7%] vs 29 121 [51.7%]; aOR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.57-1.97; P < .001) in their careers. Among students pursuing dermatology, female, URM, and SM identities were independently associated with increased odds of caring for underserved populations (eg, URM: aOR, 4.05; 95% CI, 2.83-5.80) and practicing public health (eg, SM: aOR, 2.55; 95% CI, 1.51-4.31). URM students compared with non-URM students pursuing dermatology had increased odds of intending to practice in underserved areas (aOR, 3.93; 95% CI, 2.66-5.80), and SM students compared with heterosexual students pursuing dermatology had increased odds of intending to become medical school faculty (aOR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.01-2.57), to pursue administrative roles (aOR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.01-2.59), and to conduct research (aOR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.01-2.98).Conclusions and relevanceThe findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that diversity gaps continue to exist in the dermatology workforce pipeline. Efforts are needed to increase racial and ethnic and sexual orientation diversity and interest in careers focused on underserved care and public health among students pursuing dermatology.

Project description:BackgroundA much higher prevalence of alexithymia has been reported in medical students compared with the general population, and alexithymia is a risk factor that increases vulnerability to mental disorders. Our aim was to evaluate the level of alexithymia in Chinese medical students and to explore its influencing factors.MethodsA cross-sectional study of 1,950 medical students at Shenyang Medical College was conducted in May 2014 to evaluate alexithymia in medical students using the Chinese version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by Cronbach's ? coefficient and mean inter-item correlations. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate construct validity. The relationships between alexithymia and influencing factors were examined using Student's t-test, analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0.ResultsOf the 1,950 medical students, 1,886 (96.7%) completed questionnaires. Overall, Cronbach's ? coefficient of the TAS-20 questionnaire was 0.868. The results of CFA showed that the original three-factor structure produced an acceptable fit to the data. By univariate analysis, gender, grade (academic year of study), smoking behavior, alcohol use, physical activity, history of living with parents during childhood, and childhood trauma were influencing factors of TAS-20 scores (p?<?0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that gender, physical activity, grade, living with parents, and childhood trauma also had statistically significant association with total TAS-20 score (p?<?0.05).ConclusionsGender, physical activity, grade, history of living with parents during childhood, and childhood trauma were all factors determining the level of alexithymia. To prevent alexithymia, it will be advisable to promote adequate physical activity and pay greater attention to male medical students and those who are in the final year of training.

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Factors Influencing US Allopathic Medical Students to Choose Pathology as a Specialty.

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Factors Influencing US Allopathic Medical Students to Choose Pathology as a Specialty.

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