All the Charm of Country Life? Types of Professional Identity among Young Doctors Working in Rural Areas

Abstract

The article examines different types of professional identity and considers career strategies of young doctors. The focus of the study is on the motivation of doctors working in rural areas, the ways in which health care specialists are attracted to work in rural areas, the retention of doctors and their integration into the local community. The research uses data collected through biographical interviews with young doctors aged 27–35 (N=20). The interviews were conducted in the Luzhsky and Podporozhsky districts of Leningradskaya oblast. Using the method of typical biographies, the author identifies the following types of professional identity of young doctors: 'specialist-assistant' and 'specialist-expert.' Each type of professional identity is characterized by a different understanding of professionalism and the meanings behind this. 'Specialists-assistants' understand the medical profession as helping: the role of the doctor supported by the sense of place is interpreted as missionary. The motivation of the 'specialists-assistants' is based on their rootedness and engagement in the affairs of the village community. 'Specialists-experts' treat their professionalism and professional activity as closed and detached, which explains why they distance themselves from village residents. The lack of professional growth, collegiality, self-actualization, and necessity of separating professional identity from the local identity, force 'specialists-experts' to search for other work in a new city. The strongest motivation to work in the countryside is associated with the possibility of long communication with patients and the role of being keeper of the local space. Additionally, young doctors are motivated by the system of benefits provided to participants of the state programme 'Zemsky Doktor.'