Publications by authors named "Margot Gowans"
Objective: To examine the attributes of Canadian medical students at matriculation that predicted later practice in a rural location, with the goal of enhancing evidence-based approaches to increasing the numbers of rural family physicians.
Design: Demographic, attitudinal, and career choice data were collected from medical students at matriculation. Students were followed prospectively, and these data were linked to postresidency practice location.
Article Synopsis
- Canada has two routes for emergency medicine (EM) training, which may lead medical students aspiring for EM to choose family medicine (FM) residencies to get certified in EM later.
- A study of over 1,000 medical students found that those who indicated EM as their top choice were significantly more likely to pursue further EM training after completing an FM residency compared to those who did not choose EM initially.
- The research highlights distinct differences in attitudes between students interested in EM and those who weren't, suggesting that early interest in EM can influence training pathways and career outcomes.
Purpose: To examine the stability and switching patterns of student career interests over the course of medical school.
Method: From 2001 through 2004, during the first two weeks of classes, a survey on career interest was distributed to first-year students in 15 classes at eight Canadian medical schools. Students indicated interest in eight broad career paths (emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics-gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and "other") and ranked their top three.
Objective: In Canada, availability of and access to mental health professionals is limited. Only 6.6% of practising physicians are psychiatrists, a situation unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Student choice is an important determinant of the specialty mix of practicing physicians in Canada. Understanding student characteristics at medical school entry that are associated with a student choosing a residency in surgery can assist surgical educators in supporting medical students interested in surgery and in serving health human resources needs.
Methods: From 2002 to 2004, data was collected from entering students in 15 classes at eight of 16 Canadian medical schools.
Objective: to describe the characteristics of medical students interested in obstetrics and gynaecology and to build a model that predicts which of these students will choose obstetrics and gynaecology as their career.
Study Design: students were surveyed in 2002, 2003, and 2004 at the commencement of their medical studies. Data were collected on career choice, attitudes to practice, and demographics at medical school entry and on career choice at medical school exit.
Background: Student choice is an important determinant of the distribution of specialties of practising physicians in many countries. Understanding characteristics at entry into medical school that are associated with the choice of residency in family medicine can assist medical schools in admitting an appropriate mix of students to serve the health care needs of their regions.
Methods: From 2002 to 2004, we collected data from students in 15 classes at 8 of 16 Canadian medical schools at entry.
Objective: To investigate what role family physicians currently play in the management of patients with nutrition-related issues and whether implementation of current nutrition counseling guidelines is feasible in primary care practices.
Design: Mailed survey.
Setting: Family practice offices in British Columbia.
Pain is a subjective experience that is affected by physical, emotional, and psychological factors, and reliable assessment of pain can be a challenge in the pediatric population. A quality improvement project was conducted at one Canadian health care facility to examine the effectiveness of the postoperative pain management strategy for children admitted to the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Effective control of postoperative pain involves several preventive strategies that include preoperative analgesia, appropriate use of intraoperative analgesic techniques, and identification of children at risk for significant postoperative pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Given the looming shortage of physicians in Canada, we wished to determine how closely the career preference of students entering Canadian medical schools was aligned with the current physician mix in Canada.
Methods: Career choice information was collected from a survey of 2,896 Canadian medical students upon their entry to medical school. The distribution of career choices of survey respondents was compared to the current physician specialty mix in Canada.
Objective: To report the proportion of Canadian medical students interested in a career in psychiatry at medical school entry and to describe the unique demographics and career influences associated with this early interest.
Methods: From 2001 to 2004, during the first 2 weeks of medical school, a 41-item survey of career choice, demographics, and attitudes toward various aspects of medical practice was distributed to all students in 18 classes at 8 Canadian medical schools. Associations between early career interest, demographics, and career influences were explored.
Background: Studies indicate that a student's career interest at medical school entry is related to his or her ultimate career. We sought to determine the level of interest in emergency medicine among students at the time of medical school entry, and to describe characteristics associated with students primarily interested in emergency medicine.
Methods: We surveyed students in 18 medical school classes from 8 Canadian universities between 2001 and 2004 at the commencement of their studies.
Background: Interest in both general surgery and surgical subspecialties has been declining among Canadian medical students. Studies have shown that a student's desire to practise surgery is largely determined before entry into medical school. As part of a larger study of students' career preferences throughout medical school, we sought to identify the level of interest in surgical careers and the factors that influence a student's interest in pursuing a surgical career.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine how first-year medical students interested in rural family medicine in Canada differ from their peers.
Method: From 2002 to 2004, first-year students (n = 2189) from 16 classes in 8 Canadian medical schools ranked intended career choices and indicated influences on their choices using Likert scales. We used t tests and chi2 tests to determine demographic influences and factor analysis, and we used analysis of variance to examine associated attitudes.
Objective: To determine why students switch their career choices during the preclinical years of medical school.
Design: Two questionnaires were administered: the first at the beginning of medical school and the second about 3 years later just before students entered clinical clerkship.
Setting: University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, University of Toronto, University of Ottawa, Queen's University, University of Western Ontario, University of Calgary, and McMaster University.
Background And Objectives: This study's objective was to evaluate the acceptability, effect, and use of handheld computers (also known as personal digital assistants or PDAs) as a reward for undergraduate rural community-based family medicine preceptors.
Methods: All rural, undergraduate family physician teachers who accepted an undergraduate student for a 1-month placement were offered the choice between a PDA that carried medical software or a monetary payment of an equivalent value. Approximately 1 year later, different surveys were sent to both groups of preceptors to collect data on their use of PDAs and computer technology.