title: An evaluation of career paths among 30 years of general internal medicine/primary care internal medicine residency graduates.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Interest in primary care careers has been dwindling among medical trainees over the past decade, with poor quality of life among the perceived disadvantages. We sought to evaluate factors influencing career satisfaction among graduates of Brown's General Internal Medicine (GIM)/Primary Care residency program and assess its contribution to the primary care work force.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using an anonymous online survey, we queried GIM alumni from 1981-2012 to obtain information about demographics, job characteristics and career satisfaction measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-nine percent of Brown's GIM/Primary Care residency graduates practice primary care, a rate higher than most primary care track programs. Seventy-six percent of respondents were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their current jobs. Career satisfaction correlated with self-rating of physical and emotional health and did not correlate with age, gender, income, debt burden, or practice setting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among the diverse factors associated with attaining career satisfaction, attention to personal health plays a central role.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Instructor of Medicine at the Providence VA Medical Center. A recent graduate of the Primary Care/General Internal Medicine track at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine, he plans to pursue a geriatrics fellowship at George Washington University Medical Center.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Information Systems and Research Support Manager at Lifespan.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reinert
authors.affiliation: Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and the Department of Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is also the Co-Chair of Psychology and Psychiatry in Primary Care Curriculum.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Landau
authors.affiliation: Program Director for the General Internal Medicine/Primary Care track and is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McGarry
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002321:Career Choice; D003625:Data Collection; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000193:education* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: career satisfaction; physician health; physician self-care; primary care