Exploring Medical Career Choice to Better Inform Swiss Physician Workforce Planning: Protocol for a National Cohort...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Research
• Health Workforce Planning
• Sociology of Professions

Background:

• Medical student career choices significantly impact physician workforce distribution and resource allocation.
• Previous research has analyzed individual and contextual factors separately, leaving their interaction over time unclear.
• Key data on actual career choices, motivations, and the influence of national strategies in Switzerland are currently lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand and predict the career choices of Swiss medical students.
• To examine static (sociodemographic, personality) and dynamic (learning context, anxiety, motivation) predictors of career choice.
• To analyze the evolution of career paths and compare with French medical students, assessing the impact of new master's programs.

Main Methods:

• A national, multi-institution, longitudinal study of all Swiss medical students.
• Data collection via questionnaires in years 4 and 6, with postgraduate follow-up.
• Comparison with a French medical school and implementation of a national career choice tracking system using inferential statistics and machine learning.

Main Results:

• Study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (January 2023).
• Recruitment commenced in May 2023.
• Data analysis is scheduled post-first cohort data collection.

Conclusions:

• Findings will guide national stakeholders and medical schools in predicting student career choices.
• Informed interventions during medical school can influence career paths.
• Aims to ensure adequate physician numbers in needed specialties and underserved regions.