The first nationwide survey of MD-PhDs in the social sciences and humanities: training patterns and career choices

Autor: Seth M. Holmes, Jennifer Karlin, Diane L. Gottheil, Scott D. Stonington
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Male
Biomedical Research
020205 medical informatics
Social Sciences
02 engineering and technology
Physician-investigators
0302 clinical medicine
Health care
0202 electrical engineering
electronic engineering
information engineering
030212 general & internal medicine
Social science
Program Development
Medicine(all)
education.field_of_study
Career Choice
Professional development
General Medicine
Middle Aged
Private practice
Accountability
Workforce
Public Health and Health Services
Female
Psychology
Research Article
Specialization
Medical education
Population
education
Education
03 medical and health sciences
Politics
Humanities
Clinical Research
Medical
Physicians
Humans
Social determinants of health
Graduate
business.industry
International health
Education
Medical
Graduate
MD-PhD training
business
Curriculum and Pedagogy
Medical Informatics
Zdroj: BMC medical education, vol 17, iss 1
Holmes, SM; Karlin, J; Stonington, SD; & Gottheil, DL. (2017). The first nationwide survey of MD-PhDs in the social sciences and humanities: training patterns and career choices. BMC Medical Education, 17(1). doi: 10.1186/s12909-017-0896-1. UC Berkeley: Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/3ts8k9hd
BMC Medical Education
DOI: 10.1186/s12909-017-0896-1.
Popis: Background While several articles on MD-PhD trainees in the basic sciences have been published in the past several years, very little research exists on physician-investigators in the social sciences and humanities. However, the numbers of MD-PhDs training in these fields and the number of programs offering training in these fields are increasing, particularly within the US. In addition, accountability for the public funding for MD-PhD programs requires knowledge about this growing population of trainees and their career trajectories. The aim of this paper is to describe the first cohorts of MD-PhDs in the social sciences and humanities, to characterize their training and career paths, and to better understand their experiences of training and subsequent research and practice. Methods This paper utilizes a multi-pronged recruitment method and novel survey instrument to examine an understudied population of MD-PhD trainees in the social sciences and humanities, many of whom completed both degrees without formal programmatic support. The survey instrument was designed to collect demographic, training and career trajectory data, as well as experiences of and perspectives on training and career. It describes their routes to professional development, characterizes obstacles to and predictors of success, and explores career trends. Results The average length of time to complete both degrees was 9 years. The vast majority (90%) completed a clinical residency, almost all (98%) were engaged in research, the vast majority (88%) were employed in academic institutions, and several others (9%) held leadership positions in national and international health organizations. Very few (4%) went into private practice. The survey responses supply recommendations for supporting current trainees as well as areas for future research. Conclusions In general, MD-PhDs in the social sciences and humanities have careers that fit the goals of agencies providing public funding for training physician-investigators: they are involved in mutually-informative medical research, clinical practice, and teaching – working to improve our responses to the social, cultural, and political determinants of health and health care. These findings provide strong evidence for continued and improved funding and programmatic support for MD-PhD trainees in the social sciences and humanities. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-017-0896-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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