A comparison of Canadian pediatric resident career plans in 1998 and 2006.
OBJECTIVE
Studies of pediatric resident career plans and preferences help to forecast changes in the demographic profile and practice patterns of North American pediatricians, providing insights that can guide child health care and medical education policy making. With this study we aimed to compare 4 aspects of Canadian pediatric resident career plans in 1998 and 2006: (1) weekly work hours; (2) scope of practice; (3) professional activities; and (4) community size.


METHODS
Canadian pediatric residents were invited to participate in a national cross-sectional survey to explore career plans and preferences in 1998 (mailing) and 2006 (on-line).


RESULTS
Response rates were 69% in 1998 and 52% in 2006. In both survey years, the majority of respondents were female (69% and 73%, respectively). Overall, residents planned to work a similar number of weekly hours in both survey years (47.8 vs 48.8). Women planned to work significantly fewer hours than men; this gap was wider in 2006 than in 1998 (1998: 2.8 fewer hours; 2006: 7.8 fewer hours). After adjusted analysis, the association between proportion of time in primary care and study year became significant; however, time in consultant general or subspecialty pediatrics remained nonsignificantly changed. Residents planned to spend less time in clinical work in 2006 than 1998 (64.4% vs 58.1%), and more planned to work and reside in metropolitan areas (68% vs 78% of decided respondents).


CONCLUSIONS
Between 1998 and 2006, there was no overall change in the number of hours that Canadian pediatric residents planned to work, but the gender gap widened because of an increase in planned weekly work hours among men. The results also suggest that new strategies may be needed to improve future pediatrician availability in small communities by addressing barriers to nonmetropolitan practice, especially for women.
Shamseer
Larissa
L
CARE Program, University of Alberta, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, 8213 Aberhart Centre 1, 11402 University Ave, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2J3.
Roth
Daniel E
DE
Tallett
Susan
S
Hilliard
Robert
R
Vohra
Sunita
S
D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada; D002321:Career Choice; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010822:Physicians, Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011365:Professional Practice Location; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D018570:Risk Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance