Some final-year residents have a clear message about their chosen career: Buyer, beware. 19% of final-year residents surveyed by the physician staffing firm Merritt Hawkins said they would not choose medicine as a career if they had to repeat their education. Of the 391 residents who responded, 74 said they would select another occupation. International medical graduates felt slightly better about their experience, according to the survey. Thirteen percent said they would not choose medicine again, compared to 21% of U.S. medical graduates. Merritt Hawkins conducts this survey of final-year residents annually. A third-party vendor conducted the survey over email. Researchers distributed it in March and compiled the results — which include a few other interesting tidbits — in April. The 391 responses represent a 2% response rate, says Merritt Hawkins. Rank-and-file doctors might relate to the staffing firm’s take on why these residents feel the way they do. Recently, an MDLinx survey found that only about half of respondents would recommend a medical career to their children. “With high levels of physician burnout and continued uncertainty about the direction of the healthcare system, many doctors are under duress today,” executive vice president Travis Singleton said in a news release. “It is not surprising that some newly trained doctors regret their choice of a career.” Sticker shock for final-year residents Perhaps some of that buyer’s remorse can be attributed to the cost-prohibitive nature of medical school. The survey also asked final-year residents about their overall student loan debt loads. Nearly half (48%) of U.S. medical school graduates said they’re carrying $200,000 or more of debt from their time in school. Once again, international medical school graduates fared slightly better. About 25% said they carried education debt at or above the $200,00 mark. More than 57% said they carried no debt, bragging rights which only 22% of U.S.-educated residents can claim. But it’s not all financial doom and gloom for the newest crop of doctors. Nearly 75% said they expect to make $176,000 or more in their first gig. A job-seeker’s market The upshot (if there is one at all) of the physician shortage is that new physicians appear to be able to go just about wherever they want. Of the survey respondents, 61% said recruiters contacted them 51 or more times. Forty-five percent said they received more than 100 recruiting offers. Demand appears to be higher for primary care as well as specialists. Residents receiving the 51 recruitment offer designation included 69% of primary care residents, 69% of internal medicine sub-specialists, and 64% of surgical sub-specialists. “Physicians coming out of training are being recruited like blue chip athletes,” Singleton said in the news release. “There are simply not enough new doctors to go around.” Don’t go there Though doctors are in high demand, the survey shows that there’s still one place doctors won’t go: rural America. Of the U.S. med school graduates queried, 1% said they would practice in a town of 25,000 people or fewer. International med school graduates were slightly more willing to move to the country. Four-percent said they would work in a small town. It also appears that the days of the solo physician practice are in twilight. Two percent said they want to go into private practice. Ninety-one percent said they want to be employed physicians. TL;DR A recent Merritt Hawkins survey contains some interesting details about the latest crop of final-year medical residents. Only 19% said they’d choose medicine again if they had to repeat their education 48% said they have $200,000 or more in student debt 75% said they expect to make $175,000 or more in their first job 61% said recruiters approached them with offers 51 or more times 1% said they’d work in a rural community 2% said they want to go into private practice Source
