[General practitioner or specialist at home or abroad?]. / Hausarzt oder Spezialist im In- oder Ausland?

This study investigated the career preferences of medical graduates in Germany with regard to discipline, place and position after the completion of postgraduate training. We also investigated differences in career options according to gender and region of study (former German Federal Republic vs. former German Democratic Republic).The study is based on a standardised postal survey among all last year medical students in the medical faculties of Erlangen, Giessen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig and Magdeburg in 2009. 2 107 persons were contacted and 1 012 (48%) participated in the survey.96% of participants stated their intention to pursue a postgraduate training in a medical discipline, and only 0.4% denied such an objective. 7% of the graduates preferred a career towards general practice, and a similar percentage preferred general internal medicine which usually also leads to a primary care activity. 84% aimed at becoming a medical specialist. In total, 28% intended to work in a specialist practice, and 10% in a general practice. Only one-fifth of the latter aimed at working in a countryside setting. 7% aimed at starting postgraduate training outside of Germany, and 8% preferred to work outside Germany after completion of the postgraduate training. In both cases, Switzerland was by far the most preferred country.The results contradict the thesis that young graduates are reluctant to enter clinical medicine. Working abroad is within the scope of less than 10% of the graduates. A dramatic difference between the demand for general practitioners and the career intentions of medical graduates is observed. Measures to increase the attractiveness of primary care, especially in the countryside, are urgently needed.

[Alumni of medical sciences and their life satisfaction]. / Lebenszufriedenheit von AbsolventInnen der Medizin--Eine empirische Untersuchung zum Vergleich der Lebenszufriedenheit von AbsolventInnen mit Gleichaltrigen sowie zur Aufklärung des Faktors Lebenszufriedenheit.

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: Medical doctors are especially burdened with psychological and social aspects of their occupation. These circumstances may lead to low life satisfaction and substance abusing behaviour and burn out symptoms are probable. In this paper we investigate, if alumni of medical sciences show lower life satisfaction compared to their peers. If so, we want to know, which factors influence this result. This survey is based on n = 671 alumni of medicine in seven German universities. RESULTS: The life satisfaction of alumni differs significantly from the peer sample. Outstanding are the highly significant and powerful differences to the scale "leisure". It was evident by an iterative regression that the variables "extreme input at work", "instrumentality/masculinity", "effort-reward imbalance", "expressivity/femininity" as well as "career self-efficacy-expectation", clarify 43 % of the variance in the group of alumni working by the time of enquiry. CONCLUSIONS: The results point out, that already alumni of medical science are in the "circle of burn-out". Their life satisfaction is more affected, if the workload is perceived high and the perceived benefits are low. Individual as well as external aspects influence life satisfaction and can be a starting-point for prevention.

[How do young physicians assess their medical studies in retrospect? Results of a medical graduates' survey in Germany]. / Wie bewerten angehende Arzte rückblickend ihr Medizinstudium? Ergebnisse einer Absolventenbefragung.

OBJECTIVE: German medical graduates were asked to assess their medical studies in retrospect after their final academic exam. The survey's findings should provide clues for improvements in medical teaching. METHOD: Between April 2002 and December 2002 n = 671 medical graduates from 7 Universities in Germany were interviewed. By means of a questionnaire the subjects were asked to specify their study motivation and occupational aims; furthermore they were required to give a retrospective assessment of their medical studies. FINDINGS: The main motive for the decision to study medicine and to be a doctor is the desire to work with people and to be helpful to them. Regarding their occupational aims, most graduates wish to be a medical specialist, especially an internist or a general practitioner. As to the medical teaching, the subjects of the clinical study period are considered much more relevant for the future professional practice than the subjects of the pre-clinical study period. Much criticism focuses on the lack of practice-related medical teaching. The study participants judge the imparting of both practical and psycho-social skills as extremely deficient. Only 37.9 % of the young physicians feel well or very well prepared to future clinical tasks after their final academic exam. DISCUSSION: The findings confirm that the medical curriculum should be reconsidered with greater emphasis on teaching more practical skills. Medical teaching should comprise training modules and methods that are more closely connected with clinical practice. In particular, basic skills training of doctor-patient relationship and problem-oriented classes should be implemented, integrating clinical and psychosocial aspects.