Table 1 Matrix questions on AY2012 survey
From: The temporal decline of idealism in two cohorts of medical students at one institution
How important are the following factors in considering your career in medicine? (Likert Scale 1–5; Not Important = 1; Very Important = 5) | How important are the following factors in considering your choice for a specialty? (Likert Scale 1–5; Not Important = 1; Very Important = 5) | Attitudes toward primary care (Likert Scale 1–5; Completely Disagree = 1; Completely Agree = 5) |
|---|---|---|
• Opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives | • Income expectations for the specialty | • I would like to become a primary care doctor in the future |
• Intellectual climate | • Amount of education debt I have | • I am more interested in learning the skills required for my chosen specialty rather than a general set of clinical practice skills |
• Desire to do primary care | • Ability to balance my work life with my family responsibilities | • Primary care knowledge is useful for all medical students |
• Availability of jobs | • Content of the specialty | • Primary care should be a patient’s first contact with the health care system |
• Job security | • Competitiveness of the specialty | • Medical interviewing is a fundamental tool for all medical students to learn |
• Opportunity to help patients who are socially disadvantaged | • Options for fellowship training associated with the specialty | • Preventative care knowledge is essential for all medical students to learn |
• Desire to serve my community | • Length of residency training associated with the specialty | • It is essential that medical students learn how to best communicate with patients |
• High income potential | • The lifestyle of the specialty I am considering | • Primary care doctors mostly manage chronic health problems |
• Job satisfaction | • Prestige of the specialty I am considering | • It is impossible to be an expert in such a wide field as primary care |
• Status of physicians | • Career workshops and courses | • Primary care is not very intellectually stimulating |
• Opportunities to do research in this specialty | • Primary care doctors have a large work overload | |
• Opportunities to provide care to underserved populations | • Primary care doctors are poorly valued by the rest of the medical profession | |
• A primary care doctor is clinically competent to provide most of the health care an individual may require |