Career destinations seven years on among doctors who qualified in the United Kingdom in 1988: postal questionnaire survey.
OBJECTIVE
To report the career choices and career destinations in 1995 of doctors who qualified in the United Kingdom in 1988.


METHODS
Postal questionnaire.


METHODS
United Kingdom.


METHODS
All doctors who qualified in the United Kingdom in 1988.


METHODS
Current employment.


RESULTS
Of the 3724 doctors who were sent questionnaires, eight had died and three declined to participate. Of the remaining 3713 doctors, 2885 (77.7%) replied. 16.9% (608/3593; 95% confidence interval 16.1% to 17.8%) of all 1988 qualifiers from medical schools in Great Britain were not working in the NHS in Great Britain in 1995 compared with 17.0% (624/3674; 16.1% to 17.9%) of the 1983 cohort in 1990. The proportion of doctors working in general practice was lower than in previous cohorts. The percentage of women in general practice (44.3% (528/1192)) substantially exceeded that of men (33.1% (443/1340)). 53% (276/522) of the women in general practice and 20% (98/490) of the women in hospital specialties worked part time.


CONCLUSIONS
Concerns about recruitment difficulties in general practice are justified. Women are now entering general practice in greater numbers than men. There is no evidence of a greater exodus from the NHS from the 1988 qualifiers than from earlier cohorts.
Lambert
T W
TW
UK Medical Careers Research Group, Unit of Health-Care Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, UK. trevor.lambert@public-health.oxford.ac.uk
Goldacre
M J
MJ
D002321:Career Choice; D002322:Career Mobility; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011364:Professional Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013222:State Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006113:United Kingdom; D000078329:Workforce