Title: Determinants of physicians' career choices in Ukraine

Authors: Olena Mazurenko; Haiyan Qu; Olesya Hulchiy; S. Robert Hernandez; Richard Shewchuk

Addresses: Department of Health Care Administration and Policy, University of Nevada in Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy, Box 3023, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89154-5256, USA ' Department of Health Services Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, WEBB 556, 1720 Second Ave. South, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-3361, USA ' Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Institute of Medical Ecology, 50 Popudrenko Str., Office 321, Kiev, 02094, Ukraine ' Department of Health Services Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, WEBB 607, 1720 Second Ave. South, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-3361, USA ' Department of Health Services Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, WEBB 607, 1720 Second Ave. South, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-3361, USA

Abstract: Political and economic changes have created challenges for physician attrition rates in Ukraine. This study examined how a cross-section of Ukrainian physicians prioritised the factors hypothesised to influence decisions about continuing to work in medicine. A survey was conducted with 443 physicians in Ukraine. Latent class choice analysis (LCA) was used to model the heterogeneity in pair-wise comparisons of factors related to physician continued employment in medicine. The response rate was 70% (N = 310). Respondents, on average, were 45.4 years old, practiced 21.6 years. Four groups were identified on the basis of how they prioritised factors about work. Group 1 (47.7%) was 'culture-focused', group 2 (27.7%) was 'advancement-focused', group 3 (16.2%) was 'routinisation-focused', and group 4 (8.5%) was 'externally-focused'. The use of a person-centred analytical approach represents an alternative for examining career decision issues that should be considered for subgroups within the workforce.

Keywords: job satisfaction; management; physician satisfaction; career decisions; latent class analysis; Ukraine; career choices; medical careers; healthcare services; doctors; physicians.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBHR.2012.051407

International Journal of Behavioural and Healthcare Research, 2012 Vol.3 No.3/4, pp.291 - 305

Received: 15 Jun 2012
Accepted: 20 Sep 2012
Published online: 20 Aug 2014 *

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