Two current workforce problems were at the core of my research. First, in the Netherlands, as in many other developed countries there is a current malalignment between graduates’ preferences for medical specialties for their future career and societal needs in future medical specialists. Secondly, the pace in which the medical specialists workforce is diversifying, essential in striving for optimal care in a demographically and socially changing society, is lagging behind. So my research focussed on identifying mechanisms in medical specialty career choice and residency selection decision making process which could help us create a future adequate, diverse medical workforce.
I am proud of the research I was able to do surrounding the residency selection decision making. It was an essential knowledge gap and the studies led to both theoretical as well as very practical implications.
How much fun is it to totally dive into one process and trying to understand it to a bigger extend, and with this understanding being able to come to practical implications which can actually contribute to a better healthcare! One of the things I gradually noticed which gave me satisfaction is the creativity which could come with doing research.
Qualitative methodologies, specialty choice, residency selection decision making