The vast majority of doctors trained at Otago and Auckland Medical Schools were working in Aotearoa New Zealand eight years after graduating, with general practice being the most popular specialty, new research reveals.
The National report on doctors eight years after graduating from New Zealand medical schools in 2011 to 2015 shows about 90 per cent of respondents were working in New Zealand.
Nearly 36 per cent of them are training or registered in general practice, including those with multiple specialisations.
The data comes out of the Medical Schools Outcomes Database and Longitudinal Tracking Project, which has been running in New Zealand since 2005.
Students are invited to complete surveys on entry to medical school, at the end of their final year of medical school, and one, three, five and eight years after graduation. The research accounts for information on more than 90 per cent of graduating doctors.
Professor Tim Wilkinson
Report co-lead author Professor Tim Wilkinson, of the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, says the findings are contrary to the popular belief that doctors leave New Zealand when they finish studying.
"This report dispels that myth – 90 per cent of our graduates are working in New Zealand, and 91 per cent of them intend to continue working here in the future," he says.
"It also shows doctors tend to change their mind about specialties once in the workforce, with general practice not always first choice at undergraduate level but many end up going into that field."
About 95 per cent of respondents had decided on a future medical specialty with the top areas being general practice (35.6 per cent), internal medicine (16.6 per cent), surgery (11.2 per cent), and anaesthesia (7.5 per cent).
Of the 89 per cent who had answered a questionnaire at graduation, 54 per cent had changed their first preference, and 35 per cent had changed it to one they had not considered amongst their top three choices eight years prior.
About 39 per cent of those who responded to both questionnaires had also changed their preference of size of population of their future practice. Of these, 75 per cent changed their preference towards a larger population centre.
Professor Warwick Bagg, Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, says intentions at entry to medical school, or even at the time of graduation, cannot be relied upon to predict medical workforce outcomes.
"While medical school is clearly influential, this research also highlights the importance of the work environment and other incentives that operate after doctors enter the workforce."
The report
The purpose of the project is to gain better understanding of what influences career choices from selection to medical school, and throughout training, to inform policy decisions about medical education and training.
