A Study of Prospective Ophthalmology Residents’ Career Perceptions



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

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

Table 2. Significant Gender-related Mean Differences for
candidates



“procedural/legal risk” and competition from
optometrists. Thus, many of the concerns and
comments expressed by the candidates are
supported by these research results for aspects of
the ophthalmology profession (e.g., financial,
legal, and competition).

Discussion

The aim of this study was to determine the
differences in career critical factors between
residency candidates and practicing
ophthalmologists. This was conducted to consider
the possibility that each group might hold
differing perspectives about what is important for
career satisfaction. We provide a discussion of
the study results related to career issues, personal
and family issues, financial issues, as well as
gender issues.

expectations   than experienced by practicing

physicians (mean = 6.29).

Critical Factors were then analyzed concerning
different career perceptions based upon applicant
gender (See Table 2). Female residency candidates
indicated two factors that were significantly different
from their male counterparts: time spent directly
caring for patients (p = 0.054) and using computer-
related technology (p = 0.001).

Qualitative findings from open-ended survey
questions were provided by most (n = 38) of the
respondents. Their classifications are described in the
Discussion section.

Two open-ended questions provide added insight
into individual residency candidate career
perceptions. In particular, they were asked to describe
the most and least appealing aspects of their chosen
profession. Several themes emerged. These were
classified from the candidate’s perspective, or
viewpoint. The most cited comments were
categorized into themes. The predominant theme
regarding the question on the ‘most appealing’ nature
of the ophthalmology profession was revealed by six
subjects who indicated the professions’ “highly
specialized medical and surgical” career attribute.
Other appealing career aspects were expressed by
two subjects who reported the specialties’ “specific
expertise, clinical and technical skills, and continuity
of patient care”. The ‘least appealing aspects’ of the
profession were revealed by three subjects regarding
“insurance and medical care cost reimbursement”
concerns. Other ‘least appealing’ aspects were cited
by two subjects who cited concerns for

Career Issues - career issues offered the
most interesting results for career perspectives by
both groups (e.g., residency candidates and practicing
ophthalmologists). Work-related expectations offered
no statistical difference between groups with respect
to income level, work schedule, amount of autonomy,
amount of family/leisure time, innovation required,
intellectual approaches to problem-solving and seeing
the end results of their work. This consistent
viewpoint may be attributable to candidate
investigation and inquiry from varied professional
information sources (e.g., career analysis, recruitment
literature). On the other hand, there are apparent
career perceptions differences in the two groups.

Residency candidates reported significantly
different response levels to career issues than
physicians in practice. Candidates expected less time
to be spent in direct patient care along with less
continuity of care for the same patient on a regular
basis than found by practicing physicians. Academic
health centers tend to have fellowship sub-specialists,
which practice primarily within their specialty. This
may lead candidates to feel that ophthalmology is a
sharply defined specialty compared to those in
comprehensive ophthalmology practice. Teaching
facilities, on the other hand, tend to be large practices
affiliated with hospitals. Within these hospitals, other
physicians may be more accessible leading the
applicants to believe that they will encounter more
manual and mechanical activities. This most likely
reflects the fact that medical students are often
expected to perform their own diagnostic testing
whereas practicing ophthalmologists may have
technologists perform some of these activities while
they interpret the test findings.



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