Factors affecting choice of sponsoring institution for residency among medical students in Singapore.

Chew Lip NG; Xuan Dao Liu; Renuka Murali Govind; Jonathan Wei Jian Tan; Shirley Beng Suat Ooi; Sophia Archuleta

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Factors affecting choice of sponsoring institution for residency among medical students in Singapore.

Author: Chew Lip NG ¹ ; Xuan Dao LIU ² ; Renuka MURALI GOVIND ³ ; Jonathan Wei Jian TAN ⁴ ; Shirley Beng Suat OOI ⁵ ; Sophia ARCHULETA ⁶
Author Information

1. Department of Ear, Nose and Throat - Head and Neck Surgery, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Singapore.
2. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, National University Health System, Singapore.
3. Internal Medicine, National Healthcare Group, Singapore.
4. Ministry of Health Holdings, Singapore.
5. Emergency Medicine Department, National University Hospital, Singapore.
6. Department of Medicine, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: ACGME-I; factors; medical students; residency
MeSH: Accreditation; Cross-Sectional Studies; Curriculum; Education, Medical, Graduate; economics; organization & administration; Education, Medical, Undergraduate; economics; organization & administration; Female; Humans; Internship and Residency; Male; Mentors; Models, Organizational; Schools, Medical; Singapore; Students, Medical; statistics & numerical data; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; Universities
From:Singapore medical journal 2018;59(12):642-646
CountrySingapore
Language:English
Abstract: INTRODUCTION:Postgraduate medical education in Singapore underwent a major transition recently, from a British-style system and accreditation to a competency-based residency programme modelled after the American system. We aimed to identify the relative importance of factors influencing the choice of sponsoring institution (SI) for residency among medical students during this transition period.
METHODS:A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study of Singapore undergraduate medical students across all years of study was performed in 2011. Participants rated the degree of importance of 45 factors (including research, academia and education, marketing, reputation of faculty, working conditions, posting experience and influence by peers/seniors) to their choice of SIs on a five-point Likert scale. Differences in gender and seniority were compared.
RESULTS:705 out of 1,274 students completed the survey (response rate 55.3%). The top five influencing factors were guidance by mentor (4.48 ± 0.74), reputation for good teaching (4.46 ± 0.76), personal overall experience in SI (4.41 ± 0.88), quality of mentorship and supervision (4.41 ± 0.75), and quality and quantity of teaching (4.37 ± 0.78). The five lowest-rated factors were social networking (2.91 ± 1.00), SI security (3.01 ± 1.07), open house impact (3.15 ± 0.96), advertising paraphernalia (3.17 ± 0.95) and research publications (3.21 ± 1.00). Female students attributed more importance to security and a positive working environment. Preclinical students rated research and marketing aspects more highly, while clinical students valued a positive working environment more.
CONCLUSION:Quality of education, mentorship, experiences during clerkship and a positive working environment were the most important factors influencing the choice of SI.