Marie Kratzer, Milena Abbiati, Nadia M Bajwa, Georges L Savoldelli
"Diverse scope of practice" and "working conditions," as measured by the MCCQ-R, are associated with students' intention to choose anesthesiology as a specialty. Emphasizing these aspects during medical training could help attract students to the specialty.
INTRODUCTION: Understanding what motivates students to choose a specialty can be a lever for shaping choices aligned with the needs of the healthcare system. This study aimed to determine students' intentions to pursue anesthesiology and to identify the motivational factors associated with these intentions in two different training systems.
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional observational study (2018-2021) based on a self-administered questionnaire completed by final year medical students in France and Switzerland. Principal component analysis and Cronbach's alpha were performed to provide preliminary evidence of internal structure and internal consistency of a revised version of the Motivational Career Choice Questionnaire (MCCQ-R). Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify demographic and motivational factors associated with anesthesiology career intentions.
RESULTS: A total of 703 participants were included (response rate 74, 62% women). The average proportion of undergraduates intending to choose anesthesiology was 7.7% (n = 54). French students were significantly less likely than Swiss students to report this intention [4.1% (n = 10) in Strasbourg vs. 10.3% (n = 23) in Lausanne and 8.8% (n = 21) in Geneva]. A particularly deterrent factor among French students was work-life balance (mean score 2.76 ± 1.8; p = 0.001). Principal component analysis identified three motivational factors labeled "prestige," "diverse scope of practice" and "working conditions," which explained 60% of the variance in motives. Logistic regression identified "diverse scope of practice" (OR 1.69 [1.25-2.29]; p = 0.001) and "working conditions" (OR 1.73 [1.22-2.45]; p = 0.002) as factors associated with anesthesiology career intentions.
CONCLUSION: "Diverse scope of practice" and "working conditions," as measured by the MCCQ-R, are associated with students' intention to choose anesthesiology as a specialty. Emphasizing these aspects during medical training could help attract students to the specialty.