HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Frenk, J Articles by Ramírez-Cuadra, C Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Frenk, J Articles by Ramírez-Cuadra, C

Patterns of medical employment: a survey of imbalances in urban Mexico.

J Frenk, J Alagon, G Nigenda, A Muñoz-delRio, C Robledo, L A Vaquez-Segovia and C Ramírez-Cuadra

Department of Research on Human Resources for Health, National Institute of Public Health, Mexico.

This article quantifies the magnitude and correlates of the major imbalances affecting the employment of physicians in the urban areas of Mexico. Since the early 1970s the country has experienced a rapid increase in the supply of doctors, which its health system was unable to absorb fully. In 1986, we conducted a survey in the 16 most important cities based on a probability sample of households where someone with an MD degree lived. A total of 604 physicians were interviewed for a response rate of 97 percent. The unemployment rate was 7 percent of potentially active physicians; 11 percent held a nonmedical job, and another 11 percent exhibited low productivity and/or income. All in all, we project that 23,500 physicians in these cities were either unemployed or underemployed. This medical employment pattern was analyzed against five independent variables: generation (i.e. the year in which the physician started medical school), gender, social origin, medical school quality, and specialty. Apart from generation, type of specialty exhibited the strongest correlation with the employment situation of a physician. The results suggest that higher education and health care in Mexico may be producing rather than correcting social inequalities. Policy alternatives are discussed to restore a balance between the training of physicians, their gainful employment, and the health needs of the population.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Frenk, F. Knaul, L. A. Vazquez-Segovia, and G. Nigenda Determinants of Medical Employment in Urban Mexico: Ascription, Achievement and Context Current Sociology, May 1, 2001; 49(3): 79 - 95. [Abstract] [PDF]

				G. Nigenda and A. Solorzano Doctors and Corporatist Politics: The Case of the Mexican Medical Profession Journal of Health Politics Policy and Law, January 1, 1997; 22(1): 73 - 99. [Abstract] [PDF]