JEPM original contributionRecruitment of house staff into anesthesiology: a re-evaluation of factors responsible for house staff selecting anesthesiology as a career and individual training program
Introduction
In the 1990s, the specialty of anesthesiology experienced dramatic fluctuations in the number of American Medical Graduates (AMGs; Table 1) applying for residency positions in the United States.* † ‡ ,§ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 At the same time, there were substantial changes in perceived postgraduate employment opportunities and job security.*, †, ‡, § 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 During the mid-1990s, the number of graduating American medical students entering anesthesiology decreased dramatically.∥ # ** †† 4, 5 At the nadir in 1996, only 30% of positions offered through the National Resident Matching Program (NMRP) were filled, of which less than two thirds were American medical school seniors.5 Since 1996, the annual NRMP match results have improved steadily.5
As the number of trainees entering anesthesiology fluctuates, it is important that existing programs identify factors responsible for successful recruitment of applicants into anesthesiology and individual training programs. Accordingly, we conducted a study in 1995–96 that identified factors responsible for house staff (ie, residents and clinical fellows) selecting anesthesiology as a career and a specific training program, as well as house staff satisfaction with various educational aspects of our training program, and their perceptions of the future for graduating anesthesiology trainees.1 With renewed interest in the field of anesthesiology5 and improved postgraduate employment opportunities, we elected to reexamine these issues five years after the nadir.
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Materials and methods
Following approval from the Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 77 house staff, including residents in their clinical base, CA1, CA2, or CA3 year, and clinical fellows, who were enrolled in the anesthesiology training program at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN during the 2000 to 2001 academic year. We used the same questionnaire instrument that we used in our 1995 to 1996 study.1
Respondents were asked if various factors were a major positive, minor
Results
Forty-five (58%) of those surveyed responded to the questionnaire. Of the respondents, females and males represented 16% and 73%, respectively. This ratio is consistent with the distribution of females and males in our training program. The age distribution of the respondents was as follows: ≤30 years (44%), 31 to 40 years (40%), and ≥41 years (2%). Eleven percent did not disclose their gender and 13% elected not to disclose their age. The respondents level of training was distributed as
Discussion
To our knowledge, this is the first study to reevaluate factors responsible for house staff selecting anesthesiology as a career and a specific training program, as well as house staff satisfaction with various educational aspects of our training program, and their perceptions of the future for graduating anesthesiology trainees. Although most of these factors remained relatively constant between the 1995-1996 and 2000-2001 study periods, there were some interesting differences observed between
Summary
To date, ours is the first study to reevaluate factors responsible for house staff selecting anesthesiology as a career and a specific training program, as well as house staff satisfaction and their perceptions of future employment prospects. Although most of these factors remained relatively constant between the 1995-1996 and 2000-2001 study epochs, there were some interesting differences. As observed in our study and others,6, 7 maintaining a high level of satisfaction is an important factor
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Cited by (25)
Recruitment of house staff into anesthesiology: A longitudinal evaluation of factors responsible for selecting a career in anesthesiology and an individual training program
2014, Journal of Clinical AnesthesiaCitation Excerpt :A request to participate in an anonymous web-based survey (SurveyMonkey, Portland, OR, USA) was sent via email to all 63 residents enrolled in their clinical base, CA1, CA2, and CA3 years. Survey questions were identical to those used in previous studies conducted in 1995-96 and 2000-01 [2,3] with the exception of several new duty hour-related questions (Appendix A). Survey questions were previously validated utilizing test residents [2].
Reasons residents choose to specialize in anesthesiology and postoperative critical care in the autonomous community of Madrid
2011, Revista Espanola de Anestesiologia y ReanimacionPharmacy students' motivational beliefs regarding pursuance of graduate school after completion of the PharmD program
2010, Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and LearningCitation Excerpt :Intrinsic value is similar to intrinsic motivational beliefs and assesses value associated with interest and enjoyment in performing a task; attainment value encompasses beliefs about the importance of performing a task; utility value is similar to extrinsic motivational beliefs in that it assesses the usefulness of performing a task; and cost belief takes into consideration factors that must be sacrificed to perform a task. Research has been conducted outside of the pharmacy profession that studied relationships between motivational beliefs and course enrollment, choice of college major, course goals, career choice, and perceptions of student abilities.21–31 Additional research has also been conducted that has specifically examined reasons for pursuing graduate school; however, none of the studies was developed within a theoretical framework related to motivational beliefs.32–34
French national survey on evaluation by residents in anesthesiology and critical care of choice's motivations of the specialty and their practical and theoretical training
2010, Annales Francaises d'Anesthesie et de ReanimationPart-Time Clinical Anesthesia Practice: a Review of the Economic, Quality, and Safety Issues
2008, Anesthesiology ClinicsChanging of an anesthesiology clinical base year to create an integrated 48-month curriculum: Experience of one program
2005, Journal of Clinical AnesthesiaCitation Excerpt :Clearly, there was an issue. Current house staff satisfaction is a well-known issue for successful recruiting of future house staff [1]. Simultaneously (and coincidentally), the political climate of anesthesiology changed [2].
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Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
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Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
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Professor of Anesthesiology
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Statistician, Section of Biostatistics