TY - JOUR
T1 - Career preferences and perceptions of the medical labor market among Mexican interns
AU - Frenk, Julio
AU - Bashshur, Rashid
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements--The survey of Mexican interns upon which this report is based was conducted at the Xochi-milco campus of the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico by H6ctor Hern~ndez-Llamas, Ph.D., Lourdes Alvarez-Klein, M.D. and the senior author, with the support of the rector of the University, first Ram6n Villarreal, M.D. and later Luis Felipe Bojalil, M.D. Valuable advice at the early, stages of the survey was provided by Juan C6sar Garcia. M.D., of the Pan American Health Organization: Josep Rota, Ph.D.. formerly at the Anahuac University of Mexico: Lucy Reidl, Ph.D.. of the National Autonomous University of Mexico: and Rainer Godau. Ph.D. of the College of Mexico. At the University of Michigan, Charles Metzner. Ph.D., Kenneth E. Guire, M.S., and Frank M. Andrews. Ph.D. were of great help with various aspects of the specific data analysis reported in this paper. We are also indebted to Kay Pierson for her careful preparation of the manuscript. Finally. the National Council of Science and Technology and the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico provided grants to the survey of Mexican interns. In addition, Julio Frenk has been supporte d as a Junior Fellow by the Michigan Society of Fellows. The active cooperation of the medical schools included in the study and of all the governmental health care agencies involved is also gratefully acknowledged. While the persons and organizations mentioned above were all essential at different stages of the project, none of them shares any responsibility for the shortcomings of the present paper.
PY - 1983
Y1 - 1983
N2 - This paper examines the relationship between choice of career and perception of the medical labor market, as well as the effects of social origin, type of medical school, and place of internship. The data are derived from a survey of interns which was conducted in Mexico during 1978, when a substantial proportion of physicians was unemployed or underemployed. Career preferences were operationalized in terms of type of activity (general practice or specialty), site (ambulatory or hospital) and institution (public assistance, social security or private). Perceptions of the medical labor market were measured as an 'objective' feasibility perception and a 'subjective' opportunity assessment. Additionally, composite indices of career preferences and perceptions were constructed in order to take account of two integrated career patterns: dominant (or majority preference) vs alternative (or minority preference). Analysis of the data consistently revealed that perception of the medical labor market had a much stronger impact on preference for alternative than for dominant career patterns. Whereas social origin had no effect on career preference, type of medical school and place of internship exhibited a statistical ineraction with career preference, suggesting that certain structural conditions of the medical school and the teaching hospitals lead to preference for alternative rather than dominant careers. The implications of the findings are discussed with regard to health manpower policy, to conceptions of rational career choice and to the professional status of medicine in Mexico.
AB - This paper examines the relationship between choice of career and perception of the medical labor market, as well as the effects of social origin, type of medical school, and place of internship. The data are derived from a survey of interns which was conducted in Mexico during 1978, when a substantial proportion of physicians was unemployed or underemployed. Career preferences were operationalized in terms of type of activity (general practice or specialty), site (ambulatory or hospital) and institution (public assistance, social security or private). Perceptions of the medical labor market were measured as an 'objective' feasibility perception and a 'subjective' opportunity assessment. Additionally, composite indices of career preferences and perceptions were constructed in order to take account of two integrated career patterns: dominant (or majority preference) vs alternative (or minority preference). Analysis of the data consistently revealed that perception of the medical labor market had a much stronger impact on preference for alternative than for dominant career patterns. Whereas social origin had no effect on career preference, type of medical school and place of internship exhibited a statistical ineraction with career preference, suggesting that certain structural conditions of the medical school and the teaching hospitals lead to preference for alternative rather than dominant careers. The implications of the findings are discussed with regard to health manpower policy, to conceptions of rational career choice and to the professional status of medicine in Mexico.
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U2 - 10.1016/0277-9536(83)90257-5
DO - 10.1016/0277-9536(83)90257-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 6879230
AN - SCOPUS:0020974885
VL - 17
SP - 693
EP - 704
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
SN - 0277-9536
IS - 11
ER -