New doctors prefer to practice in cities

A recent survey indicates final-year resident physicians want to practice in urban areas because they believe the amenities are better for their families.

By Jay Greene, AMNews stafff. Aug. 20, 2001.

More residents entering practice this year are shunning small towns and selecting larger metropolitan areas for lifestyle reasons, according to a new survey.

Starting salary expectations are also lower for residents than in previous years, according to the survey by Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, a recruiting firm based in Irving, Texas.

Only 11% of the residents surveyed said their top priority this year is a "good financial package" compared with 18% who said so in 1999. Nearly two-thirds of residents said geographic location/lifestyle is their most important factor when they select a job, said the survey, which polled 300 final-year primary care and specialty residents between January and May.

"What is troubling for small-town hospital administrators is that none of the residents said they want to practice in a town of less than 10,000," said Stephen Thomas, vice president of recruiting at Merritt's Irvine, Calif., office. "Residents are telling us they want to work and earn a decent living, but they are more interested in where they work than how much money they earn."

In the survey, 25% of residents said a signing bonus of $12,000 would have no effect on their decision compared with 13% who felt that way in 1999. However, 58% said educational loan forgiveness would have some effect on their job decision compared with 31% in 1999.

"Residents are looking for ways to pay off their medical school debts of $100,000 or more," Thomas said. "But if they have a family, those concerns are less important. We try to educate both the physician and spouse about their practice location. More than 90% of physicians choose to practice near their hometown, their spouse's hometown or near their training site. There are other options." [...]