Identifying motivations and personality of rural doctors: A study in Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia.

Abstract

Background: One of the health issues faced worldwide is the misdistribution of health practitioners resulting in a lack of physicians working in rural and remote areas. We identified the motivations of rural doctors and the personality that contribute to motivation to stay in rural communities. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological approach was used for which 35 rural general practitioners were interviewed in focus group discussion and one-to-one in-depth interview using a list of structured open-ended questions. Results: Family relationships and self-actualization play important roles in choosing a rural career. Personality also contributes to the decision to work as a rural doctor. We identified nine types of rural doctors, of which it is proposed that five could be encouraged and further developed in medical training. Discussion: The study results suggest that more attention should be devoted to developing certain characteristic in medical students. This would hopefully result in rural doctors gaining increased job satisfaction and being more likely to be retained for a longer duration in rural locations.