A MODEL TO DETERMINE THE INFLUENCE OF MEDICAL-SCHOOL ON STUDENTS CAREER CHOICES - PSYCHIATRY, A CASE-STUDY

Background. A major concern of medical educators is to understand bett er how the experience of medical school influences students' career ch oices. This concern is of particular relevance for specialties experie ncing or anticipating serious shortages (e.g., psychiatry, generalist specialties, general surgery). Method. To construct a case study of a model to determine the influence of medical school an students' select ions of specialty, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) dat abases were used to examine students' interests in one specialty (psyc hiatry) at two time periods: (1) at or before matriculation and (2) in the first year of residency. Data were examined for all graduates of all U.S. medical schools from 1991 and 1992. In addition to examining data for each school individually, comparisons were made of schools by region and by institutional control (public or private). Results. Inc reased interest in psychiatry was found in seven of eight regions acro ss the country. The greatest increases were found among graduates of p ublic and private medical schools in the southeast: both types of scho ols increased the interest in psychiatry among their graduates by 250% , compared with the national average of 170%. A decrease in interest i n careers in psychiatry was found among graduates of private medical s chools in the northeast. Conclusion. The findings point to one way of understanding better the influence of a medical school on its students ' career choices. By using this model, each specialty may be able to d evelop studies to examine the complex interactions between students an d specific medical schools.