비임상 진로(non-clinical career)에 관심이 있는 의과대학 학생은 어떤 면에서 다를까?

(출처 : http://www.uclahealthcareers.org/career-areas/non-clinical-roles)

"위대해지는 것을 두려워하지 마십시오."

Introduction

의학 분야에 있어서 의사의 역할은 진화해왔으며, 점차 다양해지고 있고, 다른 학문의 분야와 융합되어감으로써 임상의학의 양상도 변화하고 있다. 그 결과 일부 국가에서는 임상의사 외의 다른 진로를 희망하는 의과대학 학생들의 비율이 점차 증가하고 있다.

The physician’s role has evolved and diversified as the field of medicine becomes more convergent with other disciplines and the landscape of clinical practice changes [1]. Consequently, the proportion of medical school graduates who pursue careers other than full-time clinical practice has increased in some countries [2]

인구학적 특성이나 개인의 성격이 임상과 선택과 관련이 있다는 연구 결과가 있으며, 진로의 종류에 대한 생각도 임상과 선택에 영향을 준다. 개인적 특성 외에도 임상실습이나 튜터링을 하는 동안 학생이 어떠한 경험을 하는지도 진로 선택에 영향을 준다. 더 나아가서 생활습관이나 수입과 같은 외적 요소들고 임상과 선택에 영향을 준다고 연구된 바 있다.

Some studies show that student demographics and characteristics are associated with their specialty choice [3-7]. Medical students’ orientations towards career types also influence their specialty choices [8]. In addition to personal attributes, studies have found medical students’ learning experiences such as clerkships and peer tutoring have

considerable influence on their career choices [5,9-12]. Furthermore, some studies suggest that external factors such as life style and income influence a student’s choice of medical specialty [13-15].

의과대학 학생들의 진로 선택이 몇몇 국가에서 연구된 바 있다.

Although medical students’ career choice has been studied in several countries [16-18],

이 연구에서 밝히고자 하는 질문은 아래와 같다.

임상 진로와 비임상 진로를 희망하는 학생의 배경(background)에 차이가 있는가?

이 두 그룹간 의학을 공부하는 동기나 흥미에 차이가 있는가?

이 두 그룹간 의료계 직종에 대한 인식의 차이가 있는가?

이 두 그룹간 진로 계획(career plan)의 태도에 차이가 있는가?

In more detail, the research questions for the present study are:

Are there differences in background between students who intend clinical careers and those who intend non-clinical careers?

Do these groups differ in their motivation for and interest in studying medicine? 

Do these groups differ in their perceptions of medical professions?

Do these groups differ in their attitudes towards career plans?

Methods

문헌 조사를 통했고, 연구에 적용할 만한 영문으로 된 자료는 없었고 한글 자료를 사용하였다. 1990년대에 전국 의과대학 학생들을 대상으로 설문조사를 하기 위해 개발된 질문지이다.

A literature search was conducted of existing research instruments suited for the present study in both English and Korean. No research instrument was available in English, so we decided to adopt one in Korean [19] for the present study. This questionnaire was developed by Park in the 1990s for a national survey of medical students on their perceptions of medical education and medical practice.

Results

Survey respondents and their career intentions

Respondents’ motivation for and interest in the study of medicine

Respondent perceptions of medical professions

Respondents’ attitudes towards career plans

Discussion and conclusions

본 연구에서는 비임상 진로를 희망하는 한국 의과대학 학생의 비율이 상승했음을 보여준다. 이는 미국에서 조사된 것과 비슷한 결과이다. 그러나 여전히 비임상 진로를 희망하는 학생이 학년이 높아감에 따라 감소함을 확인할 수 있었다. 이는 아마도 학생들이 임상 경험을 쌓아가면서 임상에 더 흥미를 가지기 때문인 것으로 생각된다. 의과대학 학생들의 임상 전문과에 대한 생각은 시간이 지나며 변하는 것처럼, 비임상 진로에 대한 생각도 같이 변화한다. 이러한 경향은 어린 학생들이 더 비임상 진로에 관심이 많은 것으로 나타난다.

The present study shows that the percentage of Korean medical students who intend non-clinical careers has increased over the past decade; from 7.3% in Park’s study [19] to 12.3%. This finding is similar to other studies of US medical students which show the national trend of an increase in medical students intending non-traditional careers [1,2]. Still, we found a trend of gradually decreasing number of students intending non-clinical careers over the years of study in medical school. It may be that students become more interested in clinical practice as they gain more clinical experience over the course of study. As medical students’ views of clinical specialties change over time [20,21], the same may be true of their views of non-clinical careers. This trend is also consistent with our finding that younger students are more interested in nonclinical careers than older students

의료 직종에 관한 생각은 두 그룹간 유의미한 차이가 없었으나 의과대학 공부에 대한 인식에 있어서는 일부 차이가 있었다. 첫째로 비록 두 그룹이 의과대학에 입학한 동기에는 차이가 없었지만, 비임상 진로에 관심이 있는 학생들은 의학 공부에 흥미를 덜 느꼈다. 두번째로 비임상 진로에 관심이 있는 학생들은 의학 공부에 어떤 면이 흥미가 없는가에 대한 점이 달랐다. 특히 암기 위주의 학습이라는 점을 강하게 느끼고 있었다.

We found no significant differences in students’ views of medical professions between those who intended non-clinical careers and their peers, but there were some differences in their perceptions of the study of medicine. First, students with intentions in non-clinical careers are less interested in the study of medicine than their peers, although the two groups are comparable in their motivation for getting into medical school. Second, those who intend non-clinical careers differ from their peers in their perceptions of what is uninteresting about the study of medicine. In particular, a higher portion of the students who intended non-clinical careers found there was too much to memorize in studying medicine than their peers

학습에 대한 학생의 관심은 인지적, 그리고 학습 스타일과 관련이 있음이 밝혀진 바 있고, 이는 학습 결과와도 연결된다. 또한 의과대학 학생들의 인지적 스타일과 학습 스타일은 임상과 선택에 영향을 준다.

The literature indicates that students’ interest in learning is related to their cognitive and learning styles, which also influence their learning outcomes [22]. Additionally, research suggests that medical students’ cognitive and learning styles influence their specialty choices [22,23]. 

또한 이번연구에서 대부분의 의과대학 학생들이 임상 외의 진로를 생각해보는 것은 중요하며, 의과대학이 이러한 진로에 대한 정보를 제공해야 한다고 생각하고 있는 것이 확인되었다. 여전히 의과대학 교과과정은 이러한 수요를 충분히 반영하고 있지 못하다.

Our findings indicate that a majority of medical students think it is important for them to consider careers outside clinical practice and that medical schools need to offer programs that provide information on such careers. Still, our finding indicates that medical school curricula do not address such needs sufficiently

이번 연구의 한계는 첫 번째로 샘플 숫자가 41개 의과대학 중 6개로 제한되었다는 것이다.

Limitations of the present study should be acknowledged. First, the sample size was limited in that only six out of 41 medical schools across the nation were included.

두 번째로, 한국 의과대학 학생들을 대상으로 한 이번 연구의 결과는 한국의 보건의료 환경에 의해 영향을 받았을 수도 있다는 점이다.

Second, this study reflects the perspectives of Korean medical students, which may be affected by the health care environment that they are in.

---

BMC Med Educ. 2013 Jun 4;13:81. doi: 10.1186/1472-6920-13-81.

What is different about medical students interested in non-clinical careers?

Kim KJ, Park JH, Lee YH, Choi K.

Source

Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 300 Cheoncheon-dong, Jangan-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do 440-746, Korea. pjaehyun@skku.edu.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The proportion of medical school graduates who pursue careers other than full-time clinical practice has increased in some countries as the physician's role has evolved and diversified with the changing landscape of clinical practice and the advancement of biomedicine. Still, past studies of medical students' career choices have focused on clinical specialties and little is known about their choice of non-clinical careers. The present study examined backgrounds, motivation and perceptions of medical students who intended non-clinical careers.

METHODS:

A questionnaire was administered to students at six Korean medical schools distributed across all provinces in the nation. The questionnaire comprised 40 items on respondents' backgrounds, their motivation for and interest in the study of medicine, their perceptions of medical professions, and their career intentions. Data was analyzed using various descriptive and inferential statistics.

RESULTS:

In total, 1,388 students returned the questionnaire (60% response rate), 12.3% of whom intended non-clinical careers (i.e., basic sciences, non-clinical medical fields, and non-medical fields). Those who planned non-clinical careers were comparable with their peers in their motivation for studying medicine and in their views of medical professions, but they were less interested in the study of medicine (P < 0.01). The two groups also differed significantly on their perceptions of what was uninteresting about the study of medicine (P < 0.01). The two groups were comparable in gender and entry-level ratios but their distributions across ages and years of study differed significantly (P < 0.01). A majority of respondents agreed with the statements that "it is necessary for medical school graduates to pursue non-clinical careers" and that "medical schools need to offer programs that provide information on such careers." Still, our finding indicates that medical school curricula do not address such needs sufficiently.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our study found some differences in backgrounds and perceptions of the study of medicine in medical students interested in non-clinical careers from their peers. Future studies are suggested to enhance our understanding of medical students" choice of non-clinical careers.