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Medical specialty prestige and lifestyle preferences for medical students

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  • Creed, Peter A.
  • Searle, Judy
  • Rogers, Mary E.

Abstract

In the context of doctor shortages and mal-distributions in many Western countries, prestige and lifestyle friendliness have emerged as significant factors for medical students when they choose a medical specialty. In this study, we surveyed two samples of Australian medical students and had them rank 19 medical specialties for prestige (N = 530) and lifestyle friendliness (N = 644). The prestige rankings were generally consistent with previous ratings by physicians, lay people and advanced medical students, with surgery, internal, and intensive care medicine ranking the highest, and public health, occupational, and non-specialist hospital medicine ranking lowest. This suggests that medical students have incorporated prevailing prestige perceptions of practicing doctors and the community. Lifestyle rankings were markedly different from prestige rankings, where dermatology, general practice, and public health medicine were ranked the most lifestyle friendly, and surgery, obstetrics/gynaecology and intensive care were ranked least friendly. Student lifestyle rankings differed from physician and author-generated rankings, indicating that student preferences should be considered rather than relying on ratings created by others. Few differences were found for gender or year of study, signifying perceptions of prestige and lifestyle friendliness were consistent across the students sampled. Having access to and understanding these rankings will assist career counsellors to aid student and junior doctor decision-making and aid workforce planners to address gaps in medical specialty health services.

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  • Creed, Peter A. & Searle, Judy & Rogers, Mary E., 2010. "Medical specialty prestige and lifestyle preferences for medical students," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(6), pages 1084-1088, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:6:p:1084-1088
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    1. Caoimhe Ní hÉalaithe & Aoife Howard & Paul Corcoran & Claire M McCarthy & Mary Horgan & Deirdre Bennett & Keelin O’Donoghue & Suzanne O’Sullivan, 2023. "Factors influencing medical students’ decision to pursue a career in obstetrics and gynaecology," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(12), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Ashley, Louise & McDonald, Ian, 2024. "When the Penny Drops: Understanding how social class influences speciality careers in the UK medical profession," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    3. Johannessen, Lars E.F., 2014. "The narrative (re)production of prestige: How neurosurgeons teach medical students to valorise diseases," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 85-91.
    4. Elaine Kelly & Isabel Stockton, 2024. "A senior doctor like me: Gender match and occupational choice," IFS Working Papers W24/11, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    5. Album, Dag & Johannessen, Lars E.F. & Rasmussen, Erik B., 2017. "Stability and change in disease prestige: A comparative analysis of three surveys spanning a quarter of a century," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 45-51.
    6. Šlegerová, Lenka & Bryndová, Lucie & Michenka, Petr & Kočí, Martin, 2025. "The 2017 reform to medical specialty training in Czechia: Exploring student career preferences," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    7. Heikkilä, Teppo Juhani & Hyppölä, Harri & Aine, Tiina & Halila, Hannu & Vänskä, Jukka & Kujala, Santero & Virjo, Irma & Mattila, Kari, 2014. "How do doctors choose where they want to work? – Motives for choice of current workplace among physicians registered in Finland 1977–2006," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(2), pages 109-117.

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