A LATE START INTO MEDICINE: CAREER PATHS AND PATTERNS.
Item
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Title
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A LATE START INTO MEDICINE: CAREER PATHS AND PATTERNS.
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Identifier
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AAI8222959
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identifier
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8222959
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Creator
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LEVITT, IRENE RAYMAN.
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Contributor
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Patricia Kindall
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Date
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1982
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Education, Sociology of
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Abstract
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This research is concerned with a small proportion of the medical profession, the five percent who have begun their medical training at an older age, twenty-eight or later. The basic question is: Do those who delay entrance into the medical profession make a contribution to our system of health care delivery that is not being met by other physicians? More specifically: When compared with those who begin their medical studies at the typical age (younger than twenty-eight), do they fill the need for more primary care physicians (in particular, general or family practitioners)? Do they practice in the underserved rural and inner city areas? And, do they deal with patients in a more humanist or socially concerned way? To answer these questions, we relied on two sources of data: (1) survey data from a sample of physicans (n = 4143) randomly selected from the AMA Physician Masterfile, which included "younger matriculants" (those who begin at age twenty-eight or later). This sample includes mostly physicians who are in practice, but has a fair number of those in training, as well; (2) in-depth interviews with a sample of older matriculants, selected non-randomly, primarily from one New York City Housestaff association. Also included were physicians in practice, as well as those at the premedical and medical school stage of their training.;The combination of data, the first, more quantitative (using secondary analysis of a computerized data base), and the second, more qualitative (using content analysis of transcribed interviews), allowed us to both describe the older recruit and to compare him with his younger peers. More specifically, we examined career paths and patterns with regard to the following: the decision to pursue medicine in light of earlier career goals and choices; the nature of undergraduate and postgraduate training (location, type, quality of program); practice characteristics (location, speciality versus general practice, practice arrangement); attitudes toward the profession and professional responsibilities.;Overall, we found that younger and older matriculants differ in some important ways. With regard to our basic research question, we found that older matriculants are more likely than younger matriculants to choose general medicine, specifically, general/family practice; general surgery; and general internal medicine, rather than subspecialty medicine. Further, they more often than their younger peers practice in solo settings, although they do not differ in terms of geographic location of practice.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Sociology
