High school predictors of a career in medicine: What makes a difference?

From left to right: Travis T. Fuchs, Dr. Phillip M. Sadler,

and Dr. Gerhard Sonnert

Researchers at Harvard University have published the results of a study entitled “High School Predictors of a Career in Medicine” on the Journal of Career and Technical Education (JCTE). The authors, Travis T. Fuchs, Philip M. Sadler, and Gerhard Sonnert, examined how background, academic, and motivation variables influenced students’ desire, at the end of high school, for a medical career, and, in particular, how these variables differed by race/ethnicity. The study aimed to add to the evidence base about students’ career interests in medicine at the end of high school to inform policy initiatives that are planned to support underrepresented minority (URM) students. Based on multiple logistic regression models the authors found that interest in a medical career at the beginning of high school strongly predicted interest in a medical career at the end of high school. 

According to the authors, this finding highlighted how early medical career intentions take shape and, thus, how important early strategies may be if one wants to foster students’ interest in medicine. In addition, the authors found almost no racial/ethnic differences when predicting end of high school interest in medicine, after controlling for other predictors. The exception was elevated medical career interest amongst Non-Hispanic Asian students. Furthermore, Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic students who wanted to become physicians tended to have low science performance. This limited proficiency may impede Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic students’ further progress through the medical pipeline. 

Based on the results of their study, the authors recommend for those wishing to develop intervention strategies that support URM students on the path toward medicine, that they strengthen the scientific achievement of high school students who already have an interest in medicine.

Reading/Downloading Full Articles
The full version of this article may be accessed as part of Volume 30, Issue 1 (Winter 2015) issue of the Journal of Career and Technical Education, available at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JCTE/v30n1/

Submitting Manuscripts for Publication
To submit manuscripts and preparation guidelines, please visit the JCTE's page at http://cwe-usf-ott.blogspot.com/p/jcte.html