Abstract
BackgroundCardiology is one of the most popular of the hospital medical specialties in the UK. It is also a highly competitive specialty in respect of the availability of higher specialty training posts. Our aims are to describe doctors’ early intentions about seeking careers in cardiology, to report on when decisions about seeking a career in cardiology are made, to compare differences between men and women doctors in the choice of cardiology, and to compare early career choices with later specialty destinations.MethodsQuestionnaire surveys were sent to all UK medical graduates in selected qualification years from 1974–2009, at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years after graduation.ResultsOne year after graduation, the percentage of doctors specifying cardiology as their first choice of long-term career rose from the mid-1990s from 2.4% (1993 cohort) to 4.2% (2005 cohort) but then fell back to 2.7% (2009 cohort). Men were more likely to give cardiology as their first choice than women (eg 4.1% of men and 1.9% of women in the 2009 cohort). The percentage of doctors who gave cardiology as their first choice of career declined between years one and five after qualification: the fall was more marked for women. 34% of respondents who specified cardiology as their sole first choice of career one year post-graduation were later working in cardiology. 24% of doctors practising as cardiologists several years after qualification had given cardiology as their sole first choice in year one. The doctors’ ‘domestic circumstances’ were a relatively unimportant influence on specialty choice for aspiring cardiologists, while ‘enthusiasm/commitment’, ‘financial prospects’, ‘experiences of the job so far’ and ‘a particular teacher/department’ were important.ConclusionsCardiology grew as a first preference one year after graduation to 2005 but is now falling. It consistently attracts a higher percentage of men than women doctors. The correspondence between early choice and later destination was not particularly strong for cardiology, and was less strong than that for several other specialties.
Highlights
Cardiology is one of the most popular of the hospital medical specialties in the UK
As with all clinical specialties, there is a need to ensure that the specialty attracts, selects and retains those junior doctors who are best suited to a future career in the field, while not raising expectations that all who want a career in cardiology will achieve one
This study draws on data from twelve cohorts of doctors who graduated from UK medical schools between 1974 and 2009, reports their choices 1, 3 and 5 years after graduation, and, for doctors in the cohorts who graduated in the year 2000 or earlier, we report career destinations within and outside cardiology
Summary
Cardiology is one of the most popular of the hospital medical specialties in the UK. It is a highly competitive specialty in respect of the availability of higher specialty training posts. Cardiology is currently a highly competitive medical specialty in the UK, attracting 6.5 applicants per higher specialty (ST3) training place in 2011 [1,2]. There are concerns regarding gender imbalance within the specialty of cardiology in the UK and internationally. A survey of female specialist registrars and consultant cardiologists found that 87% would ‘recommend cardiology to a female senior house officer,’ despite 43% reporting that they have experienced gender-based bias at work [4]. There is a need for reliable information about the choices made for cardiology by men and women medical graduates
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