Doctors applying for Danish postgraduate medical specialist training are getting younger

It was previously shown that applicants for postgraduate medical specialist training in Denmark were old. In order to prevent potential shortage of specialists, the Danish health authorities have passed legislation to speed up the output of new specialists. The aim of this study was to highlight the present characteristics of young doctors who entered specialist training.

Data include 443 doctors who were enrolled in a formalized postgraduate medical training programme in the Region of Southern Denmark from 2009 to 2011.

41% of the recruited young doctors were men and 59% were women. The average age for doctors recruited for residency training was 35 years and the average time from graduation to initiation of specialist training (candidate age) was 70 months. If foreign graduates were excluded, the average age was 34 years and average candidate age was 58 months. 6% of the recruited doctors had a PhD. 61% of the doctors were graduates from the University of Southern Denmark. 14% graduated from the University of Copenhagen and 12% from Aarhus University. Finally, 13% graduated from a foreign university.

Applicants accepted for specialist training are becoming younger at a faster rate than the new legislation can explain. The gender distribution seems to have been stable for more than a decade. The number of doctors who had a PhD seemed low; however, there was a variation between specialties.