Family medicine vocational training and career satisfaction in Hong Kong

• Published in: BMC family practice 2019-10, Vol.20 (1), p.139-139, Article 139
• Main Authors: Lee, K P, Wong, C, Chan, D, Kung, K, Luk, L, Wong, M C S, Chao, D, Leung, V, Chan, C W, Ko, W, Leung, T F, Chan, Y H, Fung, H T, Lee, M K, Wong, S Y S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis; Career development; Career satisfaction; Cross-Sectional Studies; Curriculum; Doctors’ satisfaction level; Family medicine; Family medicine training; Family Practice - education; Female; General Practitioners - education; General Practitioners - psychology; General Practitioners - statistics & numerical data; Hong Kong; Humans; Job Satisfaction; Male; Management; Medical care quality; Occupational training; Physicians; Surveys and Questionnaires; Training; Vocational Education; Vocational training
• ISSN: 1471-2296; 1471-2296
• DOI: 10.1186/s12875-019-1030-8

Postgraduate vocational training in family medicine (FM) is essential for physicians to build capacity and develop quality primary care. Inadequate standards in training and curriculum development can contribute to poor recruitment and retention of doctors in primary care. This study aimed to investigate: 1) the satisfaction level of doctors regarding vocational training in family medicine and associated demographics; and 2) the satisfaction level of doctors regarding their family medicine career and associated factors. This is a cross sectional study of all family medicine physicians across all government-funded primary care clinics (GOPCs). The study questionnaire consisted of items from a standardized and validated physician survey named the Physician Worklife Survey (PWS) (Konrad et al., Med Care, 1999). We selected three scales (7 items) relating to global job satisfaction, global career satisfaction and global specialty (family medicine) satisfaction with additional items on training and demographics. All significant variables in bivariate analyses were further examined using stepwise logistic regression. Out of 424 eligible family medicine physicians, 368 physicians successfully completed the questionnaire. The response rate was 86.8%. Most participants were male (52.6%), were aged between 35 and 44 years (55.5%), were FM specialists (42.4%), graduated locally (86.2%), and had postgraduate qualifications. Eighty-two percent (82%) of participants were satisfied with their training. Having autonomy and protected time for training were associated with satisfaction with FM training. Satisfaction with family medicine as a career was correlated with physicians' satisfaction with their current job. Doctors who did not enroll in training (p