Background: Despite a recent increase in the percentage of graduating U.S. medical students planning to pursue generalist careers, interest in primary care among students is still far below what it was in the early 1980s and falls well short of the stated goal of the Association of American Medical Colleges that half of all graduates should choose generalist careers. Also during the past decade, the number of women students and physicians has increased. Given the importance of concerns regarding the primary care work force, it is timely to examine the relationship between gender and other factors that influence the decision to enter primary care.
Method: Totals of 1,038 (65%) men and 558 (35%) women primary care physicians selected from the 1983 and 1984 graduates of all allopathic U.S. medical schools were surveyed in early 1993. Gender comparisons were made on the 19 variables that influenced the physicians' decisions to enter primary care specialties and on the six factor scores derived from a factor analysis of these 19 variables. Also included in the gender comparisons were characteristics of practice, populations served, timing of making the decision to enter primary care, and personal demographic information.
Results: Men, more than women, were influenced to become primary care physicians by early role models. Women, more than men, were influenced by personal and family factors. Overall, medical school experience and personal values are two important factors that explained the largest variances of the 19 predictor variables influencing the physicians' choices of primary care disciplines. There was no gender difference in place of origin, family income as a child, timing of the decision to become a primary care physician, or the amount of debt upon graduation.
Conclusion: This nationwide study of primary care physicians indicates that men and women physicians differ in their perceptions of the relative importances of factors influencing the choice of a primary care specialty. Gender-specific factors should receive more attention in the development of successful strategies to attract more medical students into primary care specialties.