[Work and professional position of medical specialists trained at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona].
BACKGROUND
To analyze the working and professional position of medical specialists trained at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona (Spain) during the last years, and to inquiry about their opinion on both the quality of the training that they received and the ways to improve it.


METHODS
Self-administered questionnaire of closed questions send to 402 specialists that finished their residency at our hospital from 1988 to 1996.


RESULTS
128 completed questionnaires were received and analyzed. The median age in this sample was 34 years (range, 29,41, and 58% were males. 94% of those polled are engaged in medical practice as specialists, 76% have a full-time job. 55% of the specialists complement this main job with others, mainly in private practice. The 40% have been sometimes unemployed, and, for half the specialists, more than one year elapsed from the end of residency to the first full-time job. 97% of those polled ranked the quality of the residency training as good, but most of them emphasized the need for more general knowledge and skills, in addition to the specialized training.


CONCLUSIONS
Most medical specialists trained during the last several years have attained what seems to be an stable working and professional position. The scope of the specialists' training programs by must be broaden including more general knowledge and skills.
D000328:Adult; D004501:Education, Medical; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D013030:Spain; D013038:Specialization; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires