Changes in Physicians' Specalization Preferences from 1987 to 2017

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study is to determine whether gender is an associated variable in the speciality preferences of physicians and to investigate the change in the mean scores of the medical specialities according to the risk groups. Methods: This study has been conducted in relational survey model and the dataset of the study consists Weighted Clinical Medical Sciences scores (K) of 18.308 physicians who placed in a medical speciality with the Medical Specialization Examinations applied in 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2017. Within the scope of the study, 2 test was used to determine whether there is a relationship between the gender of physicians and their speciality (internal, surgical, basic medical sciences) and medical malpractice risk groups (first, second, third and fourth). In addition, to investigate the changes occurring in the speciality preferences of physicians in the course of time, K score averages of the risk groups by years was examined by one way analysis of variance. Finally, the distribution of the one hundred physicians’ specialities with the highest K score is given year by year. Results and Conculusion: There is a statistically significant relationship between physicians’ gender and the medical speciality which they were placed. In general, male physicians prefer surgery, while female physicians prefer internal and basic medical sciences. Similarly, there is a statistically significant relationship between the gender of physicians and the risk groups of their specialty. According to the variance analysis results, the differences between the standardized K score means of all risk groups were found statistically significant. In the forty-year period, especially the standardized K score means of the first risk group increased. When the 2007-2017 compared, the standard K score means of the specialties in the first and second risk groups increased, while the standard K score means of the specialties in the third risk group decreased. During the last 40 years, it has been observed that the physicians who scored high in the Medical Specialization Examinations tend towards to dermatology, plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, and radiology, rather than child health and diseases, internal medicine, gynecology and obstetrics, and cardiology. Based on these findings, the factors that cause physicians declining interest in surgical specialities should be determined and precautions should be taken.