An Overview of Continuing Medical Education/Continuing Professional Development Systems in Europe: A Mixed Methods Assessment.

The aims of this assessment were to describe the requirements for European physicians to engage in CME/CPD; explore perceptions of their CME/CPD systems; interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) and independent CME/CPD and provide recommendations that may be adopted to improve quality and effectiveness. This assessment used a mixed-methods approach that included 1:1 interviews with in-country subject matter experts (SMEs) and an electronic survey capturing qualitative and quantitative data from practicing in-country physicians. Our analysis reflects countries with CME/CPD systems that are quite mature when compared to other areas of the world.

Research orientation among general practitioners compared to other specialties.

Objective: The volume of research work done by general practitioners (GP) is modest compared to other specialties. In order to find out reasons for this we examined the current situation concerning research orientation and factors relating to them among Finnish GPs compared to other specialists.

Design And Setting: Data from The Physician 2018 Study were used for our research.

What predicts doctors' satisfaction with their chosen medical specialty? A Finnish national study.

Background: In Finland the number of medical specialists varies between specialties and regions. More regulation of the post-graduate medical training is planned. Therefore, it is important to clarify what predicts doctors' satisfaction with their chosen specialty.

Factors important in the choice of a medical career: a Finnish national study.

Background: Applying for medical school is the first and also one of the most important career choices a physician makes. It is important to understand the reasons behind this decision if we are to choose the best applicants for medical schools and enable them to pursue satisfying careers.

Methods: Respondents to the Finnish Junior Physician 88, Physician 1998 and Physician 2008 studies were asked: "To what extent did the following factors influence your decision to apply for medical school?" In 1998 and 2008 the respondents were also asked: "If you were starting your studies now, would you start studying medicine?" and had to answer "Yes" or "No".

Finnish physicians' attitudes towards active euthanasia have become more positive over the last 10 years.

Introduction: Most physicians are against active euthanasia. Very little is known about the possible changes in the attitudes of physicians.

Methods: A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 1003 Finnish physicians of working age.

Factors associated with general practice specialty training satisfaction - results from the Finnish Physician Study.

In Finland, achieving licensure as a specialist in general practice takes six years, with four years of training in primary care. Usually training arrangements are evaluated by trainees and their trainers. In this study the opinions of licensed GPs with experience of working in practice were specifically addressed.

The non-clinical contents of GP training need more attention. Results from the Finnish Physician Study.

Background: The competencies required of a GP are complex and ever-expanding. GP training should adequately cover all the content areas.

Objectives: The aim was to assess GPs' and GP trainees' satisfaction with their specialist training and with the contents of training.

How do doctors choose where they want to work? - motives for choice of current workplace among physicians registered in Finland 1977-2006.

Though there are a number of studies investigating the career choices of physicians, there are only few concerning doctors' choices of workplace. A random sample (N=7758) of physicians licensed in Finland during the years 1977-2006 was surveyed. Respondents were asked: "To what extent did the following motives affect your choice of your current workplace?" Respondents were grouped based on several background variables.

[Information retrieval and reading routines of young doctors].

We performed a survey on information management and reading routines in a random sample of Finnish doctors graduated during the last 2-10 years. The mean time spent on reading medical data sources and literature was three hours per week. The most appreciated sources of information were Current Care and other guidelines written in Finnish, especially among female doctors.

Where have all the GPs gone--where will they go? Study of Finnish GPs.

Background: In this paper a specialist in general practice is referred to as a general practitioner (GP). In Finland only half of all GPs work as a health centre physician. The present aim was to establish what the working places of specializing and specialized physicians in general practice are, and where they assume they will work in the future.

Choosing a medical specialty--study of Finnish doctors graduating in 1977-2006.

Background: Choosing a medical specialty is an important element predefining a physician's career and life. Although there has been some research in this area of interest, there has not been much research where the profession has been researched as a whole, or where trend data over different generations has been presented.

Aim: The aim of our study was to ascertain the motives affecting physicians' choice of a medical specialty.

Does the need for professional competencies change during the physician's career?--A Finnish national survey.

Background: Competence consists of a range of skills, knowledge and attitudes that physicians utilize in their work. Different models for defining physician competency areas have been used in medical organizations. The goal of this study was to explore how Finnish physicians perceive the need for different competency areas in their work.

Amount of external CME in groups of specialties: a nation-wide survey among Finnish doctors.

Background: Continuing medical education (CME) is an integral part of continuing professional development and a prerequisite for good quality in health care. We aimed to describe and analyse the number of days spent in formal CME outside the workplace by specialty among Finnish doctors of working age.

Findings: The number of days in formal CME outside the workplace in 2005 reported by specialists was obtained from an annual postal survey, conducted by the Finnish Medical Association in March 2006, of all working-age doctors.

The association of distress and sleeping problems with physicians' intentions to change profession: the moderating effect of job control.

The present study examined whether job control moderated the association between stress indicators (distress and sleeping problems) and intentions to change profession among 2,650 Finnish physicians. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was applied. The authors found that high levels of distress and sleeping problems were associated with higher levels of intentions to change profession, whereas high job control was associated with lower levels of intentions to change profession even after adjusting for the effects of gender, age, and employment sector.

Effects of active on-call hours on physicians' turnover intentions and well-being.

Objectives: This study examined whether active on-call hours and the co-occurrence of lifestyle risk factors are associated with physicians' turnover intentions and distress.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey data on randomly selected female (N=1571) and male (N=1081) physicians, aged 25 to 65 years, from The Finnish Health Care Professionals Study were used. The outcome measures were turnover intentions and distress (general health questionnaire).

Health, psychosocial factors and retirement intentions among Finnish physicians.

Background: Early retirement among physicians is a worldwide problem and all efforts to try to minimize it are of importance.

Aims: To investigate whether characteristics of work, organization factors and health factors might be associated with retirement intentions among physicians.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey data from the Finnish Health Care Professional Study was used.

Use of quality improvement methods in Finnish health centres in 1998 and 2003.

Objective: To evaluate how widely quality improvement methods are used in Finnish primary health centres and how the use has changed over five years.

Design: Two national cross-sectional postal enquiries.

Setting And Subjects: The questionnaire in 1998 was sent to every other physician graduated during the years 1977-1986, and the questionnaire in 2003 to every other physician graduated during the years 1982-1991.

The role of job satisfaction, job dissatisfaction and demographic factors on physicians' intentions to switch work sector from public to private.

This study is based on a unique data set for the years 1988-2003 and uses structural equation models to examine the impact of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction on physicians' intention to switch from public- to private-sector work. In Finland, physicians who work primarily in a public-hospital or health-centre setting can also run a private practice. Therefore, we also analysed the impact of having a private practice on a physician's intention to change sector.

Factors associated with physicians' choice of working sector: a national longitudinal survey in Finland.

Objective: To analyse factors affecting physicians' choice to work in either the public or the private sector.

Method: We undertook a longitudinal data analysis in the years 1988, 1993, 1998 and 2003 (n = 12 909) using a multilevel modelling technique. Factors related to economic factors, physician identity, appreciation as well as demographic factors were hypothesised to influence sector choice.

Doctor-managers as decision makers in hospitals and health centres.

Purpose: This paper describes factors influencing doctor-managers' decision making in specialised health care, health centres and at different levels of management.

Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected as part of a survey on physicians graduating in 1977-1991 as drawn from the register of the Finnish Medical Association. The study sample was formed by selecting all physicians born on odd days (n=4144) from the baseline group (n=8232).

Managerial skills of principal physicians assessed by their colleagues. A lesson from Finland.

The purpose of this paper was to discover the views of doctors regarding the managerial skills of their principal physicians and the views of doctors of their postgraduate specialist training in management. This was done by sending out a questionnaire to every second physician registered in 1977-1986 in Finland. They were asked to evaluate their principal physician's managerial skills using a visual analogue scale.

Improvement in undergraduate medical education: a 10-year follow-up in Finland.

Several studies have revealed that undergraduate medical education does not adequately prepare students for their work as physicians. There have been attempts to solve this problem in curriculum reforms in medical faculties. In this article, Finnish physicians' opinions on their undergraduate medical education are analysed.