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Intention to relocate to the United States
Objectives:
To gain insight into family medicine residents' attitudes toward relocating to the United States and to examine factors influencing their decisions.
Design:
Cross-sectional mailed survey.
Setting:
University of Toronto family medicine program.
Participants:
First- and second-year residents in the academic year 1995 to 1996. A 74.6% response rate (144 of 193 residents) was achieved.
Main Outcome Measures:
Intention to relocate to the United States. Degree of importance of 11 motivational factors in residents' decisions to relocate.
Results:
In this survey, 48% of residents reported they intended to relocate to the United States, but only 17% recalled expecting to relocate before Ontario's introduction of geographic billing restriction legislation. Geographic billing restriction was the motivational factor most residents (86.8%) considered very important in their decision-making process. The two factors potentially predicting US relocation were finance and climate.
Conclusions:
Many factors influence family medicine residents' intention to relocate to the United States. Geographic billing restriction was the most significant motivational factor, and its introduction has likely precipitated a marked shift in residents' attitudes favouring US relocation.