Professional Identities of Young Physicians: A Finnish National Survey

Abstract

This report presents the results of a national survey of medical doctors carried out in Finland in 1988. Of the 1,745 physicians who completed the questionnaires, 48 percent worked in hospitals and 39 percent worked in primary care settings. An 18‐item, 5‐point Likert scale was used to assess the professional identities of the physicians. Principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation produced the following five factors to describe the professional identities of the physicians: humanist, bureaucrat, health promoter, scientist, and healer. The five‐factor solution accounted for 60 percent of the total variance. There were marked, statistically significant differences in identity between male and female doctors as well as among hospital, primary care, and other physicians. Female physicians identified themselves more as humanists, health promoters, and bureaucrats, whereas male physicians were more likely to consider themselves healers and scientists. Primary care physicians identified themselves more as humanists and bureaucrats, whereas hospital physicians considered themselves healers and scientists. The report considers the implications of these findings for health care and the medical profession.

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