This research investigates the influences on doctors' career and retirement choices. It looks at what influences the career choices of 1993-1996 medical graduates from The University of Manchester (in the North West of England) and also explores what makes-them leave the North West region during this training stage. Doctors in the late stage of their career are also studied to investigate what makes hospital consultants in the North West over the age of 55 retire from the UK's National Health Service (NHS). THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER ABSTBACJOFTHESI~submittedby Catherine Tregoning for the Degree of PhD and entitled Doctors' Career and Retirement Choices March 2008 . '. ~ .. - ....... ~. ,'., ....;- The research shows that trainees who make career choices based upon an interest in the specialty and/or opportunities as they arise at the time, are more likely to remain in the medical profession. If they have children, they are less likely to remain in medicine. Those who grew-up in the North West or have a partner who originates from the region, can more often be expected to remain in the North West. Furthermore, relocation during training is less likely if an individual has a preference for working with a mixture of deprived and affluent populations. Over 55 hospital consultan'ts are more likely to retire if they obtained their primary medical qualification before 1970, or have a disability or significant health problem. There is also a greater likelihood that they will retire if they consider issues with management to be an important factor in their decision to leave their NHS career. Conversely, they are more likely to remain working in the NHS if achieving their maximum NHS pension entitlement is important to them. The research was conducted in two stages. In stage 1, 47 doctors were interviewed from the two sample groups. The qualitative data gathered, informed the development of a questionnaire distributed to 1, 483 doctors in stage 2. Of these 534 (36%) responded. 32.1% responded from the trainee group and 55.5% from the over 55 consultant group. Pilot studies were conducted at both stages. The research draws upon several different theoretical perspectives to develop the concepts of individual, social and job influences on careers, as well as explore the process of change. The results of the research inform academic work by considering doctors' choices in the context of literature from the fields of careers, medicine and psychology, which has rarely been done. '~lt~aH:f6-U:jKes twOSamples~at different career stages and compares the influences on careers at these different stages. Recommendations for further research include more in-depth investigation of the difficulties for female doctors of combining their career with motherhood, and work into consultants' retirement intentions versus retirement behaviour.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:504696 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Tregoning, Catherine Louise |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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