A survey of career-decision factors for obstetrics and gynecology residents in Taiwan

Objective: The recruitment of obstetrics and gynecology residents has been challenging in Taiwan since 2000. There are a lots factors influencing applying, including career interest and prospects, lifestyle, salary, litigation, stress level, time demands of specialty work and gender consideration. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factors influencing the career choice of current OB/GYN residents and identify the important factors influencing recruitment.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire of career-decision factors was sent to all 280 residents during December, 2019. Total 16 factors were rated on a 5-point Likert and were ranking by their average score on the scale. Gender of residents was analyzed for their association with the scores by a two-sample test and two-tailed t test.

Results: 91 (32.5%) residents responded and 61 were female and 30 were male. The top influencing factor was being interested in clinical expertise with an average score of 4.32. The second factor was having a great sense of accomplishment in saving people with an average score of 3.82, followed by it being easier to become a medical practitioner at 3.77. The lowest scoring factor was fewer hours of work, with an average score of 1.77 and a safer working environment with a score of 2.33 was the second lowest factor. Female residents agreed that it was easier to get specialist certification with a score of 3.0. This score was significantly higher than male doctors at 2.63 with p value of 0.017.

Conclusion: Career interest and prospects were key influencing factors for applying OB/GYN residents. Minimizing the influence of detracting factors like heavy workload and medical litigation was also effective. Enrolling new residents is key to maintaining adequate staffing in specialties in healthcare. Establishing a safer work environment and determining the optimal workload will be the next reforms in the future.