Authors | Institution | |
Muhammed Mashat Hussam Daghistani Nawaf Aboalfaraj Bassem Eldeek |
King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Medicine |
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SPECIALTY SELECTION SATISFACTION AND REGRET AMONG MEDICAL SCHOOL POSTGRADUATES AT KING ABDULAZIZ UNIVERSITY |
Background
- The field of medicine has wide variation of specialties. Specialty selection is a life-altering decision that plays a crucial role in career satisfaction, and in turn patient-care.
- Physician satisfaction has a direct correlation with patient satisfaction2,3.
- Dissatisfaction may increase rates of medical errors, thus jeopardizing patient safety4.
- Many studies suggest that burnout is associated with an increased risk of medical errors and suboptimal patient care 5,6,7.
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Different specialties vary in a variety of aspects and factors, which will potentially impact career satisfaction, including working environment, stress, income ...etc1.
- This highlights the importance of physician satisfaction regarding their specialty.
- Understanding which factors contribute to physician satisfaction is critical to the design of education programs that will meet the needs of postgraduates across different specialties 8.
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This study explores significant factors regarding specialty selection satisfaction and regret from the perspective of postgraduates in their medical field.
Summary of Work
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A cross sectional study was conducted on a sample of 172 medical school postgraduate working at King Abdulaziz University. The sample included professors, consultants, specialist, residents.
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A questionnaire was used to obtain dependent and independent factors.
- Satisfaction was assessed through the following question: 'Thinking very generally about your satisfaction with your overall career in medicine, would you say that you are currently ... Very satisfied, fairly satisfied, fairly dissatisfied ot very dissatisfied'.
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Regret was assessed through the following indirect question: ' if a time machine was invented, would you use it to go back and pick another specialty? '.
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The Chi-squared test was used as a test of significance for qualitative data; Yates correction was used when the expected cell less than 5. Significance was considered as p<0.05.
Summary of Results
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From the data obtained, there is a statistically significant (p<0.05) association between specialty selection satisfaction and specialty selection regret.
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The analysis showed that 11% of the sample regret their choice of specialty.
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Furthermore, nine factors were identified to be statistically significant with specialty selection satisfaction. However, only three factors (income, interesting and exciting field, and employment opportunities) were statistically significant to the point of specialty selection regret.
Conclusion
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The results of the present study highlight the importance of career counseling for the proper specialty selection.
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The data from the present study may be used to improve patient care. This might be through counseling and deeper career insights at early stages of the medical ladder, particularly as a medical student.
Take-home Messages
- It is important for residency directors, policy makers, physicians and medical students to understand the inter-specialty differences when they make personal, professional, and policy choices.
- Further work may involve investigating alternative hospitals, the perspective of medical students in various specialties, together with exploring potential ways to solve the problem.
Acknowledgement
All my gratitude to Allah, to whom goes all my thanks and appreciation. We would like to express our endless gratutude to the Faculty of Medicine at King Abdulaziz University.
It is a pleasure to express my deepest gratutude to Dr. Diaa Hamed, Mohammed Asiri, Sarah Alqahtani, Shima F. Al-Ahmadi, Lujain Halawani, Mutaz Aboalsaud and Haadi Shalabi for all their help and encouragement throughout various stages of this work.
References
•1. Leigh JP, Tancredi DJ, Kravitz RL, Physician career satisfaction within specialties, BMC Health Services Research 2009; 9:166
•2. Szecsenyi J, Goetz K, Campbell S, Broge B, Reuschenbach B, Wensing M. Is the job satisfaction of primary care team members associated with patient satisfaction?. BMJ Qual Saf 2011; 20(6):508-14
•3. Hass JS, Cook EF, Puopolo RL, Burstin HR, Cleary PD, Brennan TA. Is the professional satisfaction of general internists associated with patient satisfaction? J Gen Intern Med 2000; 15:122–128.
•4. Fahrenkopf AM, Sectish TL, Burger LK, Sharek PJ, Lewin D, Chiang VW, Edwards S, Wiedermann BL, Landrigan CP. Rates of medication errors among depressed and burnt out residents: prospective cohort study British Med J 2008; 336:488–491.
•5. West CP, Huschka MM, Novotny PJ, Sloan JA, Kolars JC, Habermann TM, Shanafelt TD. Association of perceived medical errors with resident distress and empathy: a prospective longitudinal study. JAMA 2006; 296:1071–8.
•6. Shanafelt TD, Bradley KA, Wipf JE, Back AL. Burnout and self-reported patient care in an internal medicine residency program. Ann Intern Med 2002; 136:358–67
•7. Firth-Cozens J, Greenhalgh J. Doctors' perceptions of the links between stress and lowered clinical care. Soc Sci Med 1997; 44:1017–22
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