Seven survey questions on attributes of medical specialties*
| Attribute and survey text | FCM Mean SD | All others Mean SD |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Probability of obtaining employment. ‘How would you rate the probability of obtaining work in the next three years, whether in the public or private sector, for an individual who became certified in this specialty today? (0 to 100 percent)’ | 83.98 19.89 | 64.78 23.92 |
| 2. Lifestyle and work hours. ‘Work hours, working conditions, and the ability to reconcile work with family life. (0 to 10, 0=very bad, 10=very good)’ | 7.78 2.09 | 6.78 2.25 |
| 3. Recognition by patients. ‘Recognition of professional work on the part of patients. (0 to 10)’ | 5.92 2.60 | 6.34 2.73 |
| 4. Prestige among colleagues. ‘Prestige and recognition among colleagues as well as social recognition. (0 to 10)’ | 3.92 2.28 | 6.30 2.52 |
| 5. Opportunity for professional development. ‘Possibility of promotion or future professional development within the specialty (new fields, new techniques, scientific advances). (0 to 10)’ | 5.11 2.30 | 7.20 2.15 |
| 6. Annual remuneration with 10–15 years’ experience. ‘Estimate the current average annual gross remuneration (public and private combined) of a specialist with 10–15 years of experience. (Thousands of euros)’† | 60.00 0.16 | 86.56 31.96 |
| 7. Proportion of compensation from private practice. ‘What percentage of this remuneration (including public and private) do you believe comes from private practice? (0 to 100 percent)’† | 0.00 0.00 | 39.32 23.40 |
*The introductory text was, ‘In this section, you'll define your profile of some medical specialties, including the one that you've just chosen as your first choice as well as others chosen at random. Think about your perceptions and expectations concerning each specialty.’
†The preamble to the two questions on attributes 6 and 7 was: ‘The following questions are about compensation. To facilitate your responses, recall that the average annual gross income of a full-time specialist in Family & Community Medicine with 10–15 years of experience is currently about 60 000 euros.’
FCM, Family and Community Medicine.