Published online November 10, 2008
PEDIATRICS Vol. 122 No. 6 December 2008, pp. e1199-e1209 (doi:10.1542/peds.2007-3512)
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ARTICLE

A Comparison of Canadian Pediatric Resident Career Plans in 1998 and 2006

Larissa Shamseer, BSca, Daniel E. Roth, MD, MScb, Susan Tallett, MBBS, MEdc, Robert Hilliard, MD, EdDc and Sunita Vohra, MD, MSca

a CARE Program, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, and School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
b School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
c Division of Pediatric Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

OBJECTIVES. Studies of pediatric resident career plans and preferences help to forecast changes in the demographic profile and practice patterns of North American pediatricians, providing insights that can guide child health care and medical education policy making. With this study we aimed to compare 4 aspects of Canadian pediatric resident career plans in 1998 and 2006: (1) weekly work hours; (2) scope of practice; (3) professional activities; and (4) community size.

METHODS. Canadian pediatric residents were invited to participate in a national cross-sectional survey to explore career plans and preferences in 1998 (mailing) and 2006 (on-line).

RESULTS. Response rates were 69% in 1998 and 52% in 2006. In both survey years, the majority of respondents were female (69% and 73%, respectively). Overall, residents planned to work a similar number of weekly hours in both survey years (47.8 vs 48.8). Women planned to work significantly fewer hours than men; this gap was wider in 2006 than in 1998 (1998: 2.8 fewer hours; 2006: 7.8 fewer hours). After adjusted analysis, the association between proportion of time in primary care and study year became significant; however, time in consultant general or subspecialty pediatrics remained nonsignificantly changed. Residents planned to spend less time in clinical work in 2006 than 1998 (64.4% vs 58.1%), and more planned to work and reside in metropolitan areas (68% vs 78% of decided respondents).

CONCLUSIONS. Between 1998 and 2006, there was no overall change in the number of hours that Canadian pediatric residents planned to work, but the gender gap widened because of an increase in planned weekly work hours among men. The results also suggest that new strategies may be needed to improve future pediatrician availability in small communities by addressing barriers to nonmetropolitan practice, especially for women.

Key Words: pediatric residents • pediatric workforce • survey • career planning

Abbreviations: PGY—postgraduate year • CI—confidence interval • PWWH—planned weekly work hours

Accepted Sep 4, 2008.


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