CHARACTERISTICS INFLUENCING CAREER DECISIONS OF ACADEMIC AND NONACADEMIC EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS

Study objective: To determine characteristics motivating physicians to choose careers in academic and nonacademic emergency medicine. Design : A written survey of 1,017 active members of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and of a random sample of 2,000 members of the Ame rican College of Emergency Physicians was performed. Questions were as ked regarding medical school, residency, and fellowship training; the importance of specific factors in influencing career decisions; and pe rceived obstacles to emergency medicine research. Responses from nonfa culty and adjunct, clinical, and research faculty were compared using chi2 analysis for discrete variables and a four-group analysis of vari ance for continuous variables. Interventions: None. Measurements and m ain results: Responses were obtained from 1,203 physicians (41.3%). Th ose choosing academic careers were significantly more likely to comple te a residency in emergency medicine or internal medicine and fellowsh ip training in research or toxicology compared with nonacademic physic ians. Nonfaculty and clinical faculty considered family obligations, l eisure time, and personal income to be the most important factors infl uencing their career decisions; research faculty considered role model s and the value of research to be most important. There was no differe nce in indebtedness among the groups. Finding time and funding, admini strative obligations, and pressures to do clinical work were the most important obstacles to research productivity. Conclusion: Factors infl uencing career decisions can be used to plan strategies to meet the fu ture needs of academic emergency medicine.