Importance and benefits of the doctoral thesis for medical graduates.
Marianne Giesler, Martin Boeker, Götz Fabry, Silke Biller
Author Information
Marianne Giesler: University of Freiburg, Medical Faculty, Office of Student Affairs, Centre for Evaluation of Teaching in Medicine Baden-Württemberg, Freiburg, Germany.
Martin Boeker: University of Freiburg, Medical Faculty, Department for Medical Biometry and Medical Informatics, Freiburg, Germany.
Götz Fabry: University of Freiburg, Medical Faculty, Department for Medical Psychology and Sociology, Freiburg, Germany.
Silke Biller: University Basel, Medical Faculty, Office of Student Affairs, Basel, Switzerland.
INTRODUCTION: The majority of medical graduates in Germany complete a doctorate, even though a doctoral degree is not necessary for the practice of medicine. So far, little is known about doctoral candidates' view on the individual benefit a doctoral thesis has for them. Consequently, this is the subject of the present investigation. METHOD: Data from surveys with graduates of the five medical faculties of Baden-Württemberg from the graduation years 2007/2008 (N=514) and 2010/2011 (N=598) were analysed. RESULTS: One and a half years after graduating 53% of those interviewed had completed their doctorate. When asked about their motivation for writing a doctoral thesis, participants answered most frequently "a doctorate is usual" (85%) and "improvement of job opportunities" (75%), 36% said that an academic career has been their primary motive. Less than 10% responded that they used their doctoral thesis as a means to apply for a job. The proportion of graduates working in health care is equally large among those who have completed a thesis and those who have not. Graduates who pursued a thesis due to scientific interest are also currently more interested in an academic career and recognise more opportunities for research. An implicit benefit of a medical thesis emerged with regard to the self-assessment of scientific competences as those who completed a doctorate rated their scientific competencies higher than those who have not. DISCUSSION: Although for the majority of physicians research interest is not the primary motivation for completing a doctorate, they might nevertheless achieve some academic competencies. For graduates pursuing an academic career the benefit of completing a medical thesis is more obvious.
