A Study of Prospective Ophthalmology Residents’ Career Perceptions



Scott JR, Gunderson CA. A study of prospective ophthalmology
residents’ career perceptions.

scores between the two groups (e.g., candidates and
practicing physicians). A two-sample t-test was used
to measure gender differences on each critical factor
among residency candidates. Means and Standard
Deviations were calculated using Excel with data
analyzed from the resident applicants at the 0.05 level
(< p). A Bonferonni Adjusted Probability was used to
determine the critical value of the t-test.

Results

One hundred and twenty-two qualified
applications were received for the entering class of
2003. Electronic responses to the survey were

Med Educ Online [serial online] 2003;8:9. Available from
http://www.med-ed-online.org

Career Issues represented the most striking
difference between ophthalmology resident
applicants and practicing ophthalmologists among
career perception categories. In particular, most
resident candidates perceived that they would spend
lesser amounts of time with their patients on a less
regular (mean = 7.97), continuous, basis. They
likewise perceived a lower level of expertise (mean =
7.10) in a teamwork setting with other physicians
(mean = 6.39). Moreover, they rated a career in
ophthalmology as having greater status (mean = 7.87)
than other subspecialties. Yet, they underestimated
the pressures of dealing with crises and patient

Table 2. Critical Factor Results (Mean of responses by candidates compared to those given by
practicing physicians)


received by 40 applicants with two returned by the
postal system for a total of 42 (34.4 %). There were
18 (43 %) female and 24 (57%) male participants
with a mean age of 27.54 years. Figure 1 illustrates
the reported ethnic background of the respondents.

Resident candidates (n= 42) revealed career
interests among several categories
. Nearly one third
(35.7 %) sought careers in academic medicine while
most (55 %) held private practice interests with the
remaining (7 %) expressing research career interests.
There were 2.3% who were undecided in their career
interests.

Perceptions in the following critical factors were
found to be significant (p < 0.05) by a one-sample t-
test: Patient Interaction Time, Continuity,
Routine/Diversity, Expertise, Physician Interaction,
Manual/Mechanical      Activities,      Pressure,

Responsibility,            Security,            Status,

Computer/Technology, and Family Influence (See
Table 1).

decisions (mean = 3.52). Finally, among Career
Issues, they perceived that significant amounts of
their time would be spent performing highly skilled
manual/mechanical activities along with computer
technology applications (mean = 7.95).

Residency candidates perceived several
Personal-Family Issues as being significant. They
expected greater diversity in job skills (mean = 6.97),
lesser degrees of sole responsibility in their
profession (mean = 8.44), and greater family
influences on career decisions than that of practicing
physicians (mean = 7.39).

Only one Financial Issue was found to be
significant for residency candidates. Although
reported on a reversed scale (e.g., Likert-scale rating
where greater security was rated a “1” as
demonstrated by the significantly lower mean value
of 3.14) they expected greater levels of professional
security (mean = 3.15), although lower income



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