Physician Volunteerism: Thanking You for the Joy of Being Honored

Medical faculties have traditionally relied on gratuitous contributions of both university affiliated and community-based physicians to fulfill important goals and objectives. This phenomenon is likely to assume increasing importance as new assessment tools for student evaluation are developed and as modifications to curricula, such as the shift to ambulatory teaching sites, are introduced. There is a paucity of information regarding the characteristics of physician volunteerism. This study examines the prevalence of specific motivating factors in the context of recruitment of physician examiners for an OSCE jointly administered by a medical school and the Medical Council of Canada. Altruistic motives, such as the opportunity to contribute to the medical profession and to the educational process at the university and identification with institutions were more important than external rewards in promoting physician participation. The motivating factors were similiar in all groups of physicians and were generally independent of gender, specialty, university affiliation and practice profile.