Career Changes of Physicians From General Practice to Psychiatry

Abstract

The supply and distribution of physicians has been an important concern in the medical field over the past two decades. Retention of physicians within a specialty is a facet of the supply and distribution dilemma that warrants our research attention. This study examined the phenomena of specialty change of physicians from general practice to psychiatry. Of the 641 respondents to a nationwide survey of psychiatrists, 112 had practiced general medicine anywhere from one to 30 years before embarking on careers in psychiatry. The study found that the specialty change decision was as much related to a dissatisfaction with general practice as it was to a preference for psychiatry. The study also discovered that physicians who had once practiced general medicine before selecting careers in psychiatry were more likely to locate their psychiatry practices in nonmetropolitan areas than were psychiatrists who had never been in a general practice. The implications of these findings on the supply and distribution of both general practitioners and psychiatrists are discussed.