Medical Graduates Are Less Interested In Money Than They Used To Be, Says Survey

We're not here for the money, say new doctors.


Medical graduates are less influenced by money than they used to be, according to a new survey of final year medical students.

The 2016 medical students workforce survey study finds that 28 per cent are not influenced by remuneration considerations in choosing the medical field in which they will work.

This compares to 23 per cent of students giving the same answer when the survey was last done in 2012.

The latest survey, of more than 12,000 final year students in Australian medical schools, also found that many more have an interest in research (56 per cent in 2012 compared to 62 per cent in 2016) and slightly more want to work outside of a capital city (35 per cent in 2016 compared to 33 per cent in 2012).


The survey, carried out by the Medical Deans of Australia and New Zealand, revealed the most popular fields to practice were: adult medicine, internal medicine, general practice, surgery, paediatrics and child health, emergency and anaesthesia.


The least popular included: addiction medicine, medical administration, occupational and environmental medicine, pain medicine, public health medicine, radiation oncology, rehabilitation medicine and sexual health medicine.

Age of new doctors increasing

In keeping with the trend towards post-graduate degrees in medicine the survey also found that the age of medical graduates is increasing. In the latest survey 35 per cent of graduates were under the age of 25, compared to 41 per cent in 2012.

The president of Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand Richard Murray said he was pleased that more than a third of graduates were interested in working outside a capital city.


"Rural, regional and remote communities in Australia are still too reliant for medical services on fly-in, fly-out and locum doctors, international medical graduates and travelling to cities for treatment," he said.


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