Resident doctors and medical specialty preferences in Greece: The example of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

Aims: The present study is intended to describe the current status regarding the preferences of resident doctors evaluating real-world data from the Region of Eastern Macedonia - Thrace, and to evaluate the potential occupational and territorial discrepancies that may be observed. Methods: The official website of the Region of Eastern Macedonia - Thrace was accessed on June 8, 2023, and December 28, 2023, for official data regarding the absolute numbers of occupied and vacant places per specialty and Regional Unit. Five medical specialties, namely Surgery, Orthopedics, Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and General Medicine, were explicitly assessed using paired data. Data regarding all other medical specialties had been additionally retrieved and used when appropriate. The Chi-square test was used to test goodness of fit. Results: The distribution of occupied places by resident doctors per medical specialty (Surgery, Orthopedics, Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and General Medicine), and per Regional Unit is unequal at both June and December 2023 (p < 0.001). The ratio between occupied and offered places was comparable between June 2023 and December 2023 regarding all medical specialties and Regional Units. There are no vacant places for specialization in Pediatrics, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, and Psychiatry, Only scarce vacant places are offered for specialization in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Anesthesiology. On the contrary, there is no interest to specialize in Oncology, Pathology, and Occupational Medicine. Conclusion: In conclusion, resident doctors are highly reluctant to specialize in General Medicine, while a heavy imbalance is observed between the Regional Units concerning the occupation of offered places for specialization. These observations indicate that incentives for specialization in General Medicine should be prioritized and imply the need for further investigation to evaluate the underlying causes and the potential focused solutions.