Reasons for choosing the profession and profile of newly qualified physicians in Brazil

SUMMARY Objective To evaluate the socio-demographic profile, path to medical school admission and factors affecting the choice of becoming a physician in Brazil. Method Application of a structured questionnaire to 4,601 participants among the 16,323 physicians who graduated between 2014 and 2015 that subsequently registered with one of the 27 Regional Boards of Medicine (CRMs). Results The average age of participants is 27 years, 77.2% are white, 57% come from families with a monthly income greater than ten times the minimum wage, 65% have fathers who have completed higher education, 79.1% attended a private high school, and 63.5% selected the “will to make a difference in people’s lives or do good” as their main reason for choosing medicine, with some differences between the sexes and matriculation at a public or private medical school. Conclusion The recent politics for educational diversity and the opening of additional medical schools has not yet had an impact on the socio-demographic profile of graduates, who are mainly white, wealthy individuals