Purpose There has been limited research on physicians’ perceptions of the specialty characteristics that are needed to sustain a successful career in medical specialties in Korea. Medical Specialty Preference Inventory in the United States or SCI59 (specialty choice inventory) in the United Kingdom are implemented to help medical students plan their careers. The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of the major specialties in Korea.
Methods Twelve physicians from different specialties participated in an exploratory study consisting of qualitative interviews about the personal ability and emotional characteristics and job attributes of each specialty. The collected data were analysed with content analysis methods.
Results Twelve codes were extracted for ability & skill attributes, 23 codes for emotion & attitude attributes, and 12 codes for job attributes. Each specialty shows a different profile in terms of its characteristic attributes.
Conclusion The findings have implications for the design of career planning programs for medical students.
Citations
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PURPOSE This study was performed to identify medical career decisions choosing a medical specialty.
METHODS Medical career decisions were influenced by a number of factors which may be grouped into three categories: (1) personal, (2) demographic, and (3) environmental. In pre-medical stage, choice of a medical school was mainly decided by interests and aptitude(34.2%).
Social class and economic condition that can be obtained after the graduation was second important determining factor(27.6%). In choosing medical specialty, aptitude was predominant determinant(84.5%) and the influence of other factors were weak. Personal value system and perception of self-capacity had no significant influence. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was used to measure four dimensions of personality.
RESULTS As a result authors, could find the relationship between the specialty preferences of medical students and interns and their psychological type. The best match was possible for those who favored psychiatry and surgery.
Prospective psychiatrists' perception were tempered by intuition which means highly theoretical and reflective orientation. They were also introverted and sensitive.
Prospective surgeons were more assertive than students with other specialty choice.
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