Medical students who strongly believe that medicine is a calling are more likely than their counterparts to select a primary care residency. A survey of a random sample of 1,000 fourth-year allopathic and osteopathic medical students found that while most respondents saw the practice of medicine as a calling, those who strongly agreed had significantly greater odds of selecting a primary care-related residency. Fostering, or at least not undermining, a sense of calling among future physicians could be a strategy to help address the looming primary care physician shortage.
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Medical Students' Views of Medicine as a Calling and Selection of a Primary Care-Related Residency
Audiey C. Kao, MD, PhD, et al
American Medical Association, Chicago, Illinois
http://www.annfammed.org/content/16/1/59.full
The Annals of Family Medicine