# Career planning for specialist medical training through network structures: A successful model in times of medical workforce shortages?

## TL;DR

This study examines how network structures in medical training help address workforce shortages by analyzing applications for specialist training in gynaecology and obstetrics.

## Contribution

The paper presents a practical model of using regional hospital networks to enhance specialist training and recruitment.

## Key findings

- Most applications (78.8%) were processed through the entire training network, showing its effectiveness.
- Applicants were highly international, with 91.6% holding foreign medical degrees.
- Networks help increase application reach and support recruitment for training institutions.

## Abstract

Alliance structures with regional networks of various hospitals and medical practices should improve specialist medical training. While official training institutions in Switzerland must be embedded in network structures, young physicians seeking to specialise are free to choose a specific network and complete all stages of their training within that network, or to combine training at training institutions from different networks.

The aim was to use the application and career paths of junior doctors to describe how a network can be implemented in the context of specialist medical training and to draw conclusions for practice.

All applications received between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2022 at the Women's Clinic of the Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen in Switzerland for a position as a junior doctor pursuing specialist training in the field of gynaecology and obstetrics were reviewed, coded according to predefined questions and then quantitatively analysed. The research questions included sociodemographic characteristics, level of training at the time of application, career path within the network and the acquisition of specialist titles.

A total of 415 applications were analysed. There were 336 female applicants (81.0 percent) and 79 male applicants (19.0 percent). Overall, the applicants held medical degrees from 37 different countries. The proportion of applicants with foreign degrees was 91.6 percent. The majority (78.8 percent) of applications were processed with reference to the entire training network. Only about one in five applications (21.2 percent) was processed independently of the network.

The applications for junior doctor positions at the hospital described are characterised by international diversity. Network structures increase the reach of applications and can support the participating training institutions in recruiting medical staff. This requires the willingness of the participating institutions to invest in networking.