Why geriatric medicine? A survey of UK specialist trainees in geriatric medicine
Background: There is global concern that there are insufficient numbers of geriatricians to meet the needs of the ageing population. A 2005 survey described factors that influenced why UK geriatricians had chosen to specialise in the field - in the decade since, UK postgraduate training has undergon...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39459/ |
| _version_ | 1848795841352957952 |
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| author | Fisher, James M. Garside, Mark J. Brock, Peter Gibson, Vicky Hunt, Kelly K. Briggs, Sally Gordon, Adam L. |
| author_facet | Fisher, James M. Garside, Mark J. Brock, Peter Gibson, Vicky Hunt, Kelly K. Briggs, Sally Gordon, Adam L. |
| author_sort | Fisher, James M. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: There is global concern that there are insufficient numbers of geriatricians to meet the needs of the ageing population. A 2005 survey described factors that influenced why UK geriatricians had chosen to specialise in the field - in the decade since, UK postgraduate training has undergone a fundamental restructure.
Objective: To explore whether the reasons for choosing a career in geriatric medicine in the UK had changed over time, with the goal of using this knowledge to inform recruitment and training initiatives.
Design: An online survey was sent to all UK higher medical trainees in geriatric medicine.
Methods: Survey questions that produced categorical data were analysed with simple descriptive statistics. For the survey questions that produced free-text responses, an inductive, iterative approach to analysis, in keeping with the principles of framework analysis, was employed.
Results: 269 responses were received out of 641 eligible respondents. Compared with the previous survey, a substantially larger number of respondents regarded geriatric medicine to be their first-choice specialty and a smaller number regretted their career decision. A greater number chose geriatric medicine early in their medical careers. Commitments to the general medical rota and the burden of service provision were considered important downsides to the specialty.
Conclusions: There are reasons to be optimistic about recruitment to geriatric medicine. Future attempts to drive up recruitment might legitimately focus on the role of the medical registrar and perceptions that geriatricians shoulder a disproportionate burden of service commitments and obligations to the acute medical take. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:38:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-39459 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:38:30Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-394592020-05-04T18:52:39Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39459/ Why geriatric medicine? A survey of UK specialist trainees in geriatric medicine Fisher, James M. Garside, Mark J. Brock, Peter Gibson, Vicky Hunt, Kelly K. Briggs, Sally Gordon, Adam L. Background: There is global concern that there are insufficient numbers of geriatricians to meet the needs of the ageing population. A 2005 survey described factors that influenced why UK geriatricians had chosen to specialise in the field - in the decade since, UK postgraduate training has undergone a fundamental restructure. Objective: To explore whether the reasons for choosing a career in geriatric medicine in the UK had changed over time, with the goal of using this knowledge to inform recruitment and training initiatives. Design: An online survey was sent to all UK higher medical trainees in geriatric medicine. Methods: Survey questions that produced categorical data were analysed with simple descriptive statistics. For the survey questions that produced free-text responses, an inductive, iterative approach to analysis, in keeping with the principles of framework analysis, was employed. Results: 269 responses were received out of 641 eligible respondents. Compared with the previous survey, a substantially larger number of respondents regarded geriatric medicine to be their first-choice specialty and a smaller number regretted their career decision. A greater number chose geriatric medicine early in their medical careers. Commitments to the general medical rota and the burden of service provision were considered important downsides to the specialty. Conclusions: There are reasons to be optimistic about recruitment to geriatric medicine. Future attempts to drive up recruitment might legitimately focus on the role of the medical registrar and perceptions that geriatricians shoulder a disproportionate burden of service commitments and obligations to the acute medical take. Oxford University Press 2017-07-01 Article PeerReviewed Fisher, James M., Garside, Mark J., Brock, Peter, Gibson, Vicky, Hunt, Kelly K., Briggs, Sally and Gordon, Adam L. (2017) Why geriatric medicine? A survey of UK specialist trainees in geriatric medicine. Age and Ageing, 46 (4). pp. 672-677. ISSN 1468-2834 https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article/2970256/Why doi:10.1093/ageing/afx009 doi:10.1093/ageing/afx009 |
| spellingShingle | Fisher, James M. Garside, Mark J. Brock, Peter Gibson, Vicky Hunt, Kelly K. Briggs, Sally Gordon, Adam L. Why geriatric medicine? A survey of UK specialist trainees in geriatric medicine |
| title | Why geriatric medicine? A survey of UK specialist trainees in geriatric medicine |
| title_full | Why geriatric medicine? A survey of UK specialist trainees in geriatric medicine |
| title_fullStr | Why geriatric medicine? A survey of UK specialist trainees in geriatric medicine |
| title_full_unstemmed | Why geriatric medicine? A survey of UK specialist trainees in geriatric medicine |
| title_short | Why geriatric medicine? A survey of UK specialist trainees in geriatric medicine |
| title_sort | why geriatric medicine? a survey of uk specialist trainees in geriatric medicine |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39459/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39459/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39459/ |