Money, friends or fit: Factors influencing career selection decisions in medicine

This study investigates the role of job characteristics (income & lifestyle), exposure, person-environment fit, and network actors on career selection decisions in medicine. Personenvironment fit is defined as the degree to which physicians perceive their personality, problem solving style, skills, interests, norms and values as similar to that of physicians in different medical specialties. Network actors were defined as friends, role models, and mentors. A field study was conducted in the internal medicine department of a large Midwestern Academic Medical Center. Residents were asked to report their experiences and perceptions on all of the eleven different subspecialties from which they could choose as well as their final selection decision. Thus, we have a record of each subject’s experience and perception for both their chosen subspecialty as well the ten subspecialties they opted not to select. The results indicate that career selection decisions are significantly influenced by physicians’ perceptions of fit, the presence of network actors and prior exposure, even when controlling for job characteristics.