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Table 3 Reasons not currently active or reason became inactive (before reentry) a

From: A national survey of 'inactive' physicians in the United States of America: enticements to reentry

 

Fully retired (n = 436)

Not currently active (n = 500)

Reentered (n = 226)

 

Reason not currently active

Reason was inactiveb

 

% (n)

% (n)

% (n)

Personal health issues/concerns

37.8 (165)

37.8 (189)

28.8 (65)

"Hassle factor" (ex: paperwork, compliance issues)d

37.4 (163)

28.2 (141)

21.7 (49)

Rising medical malpractice premiums c

27.8 (121)

21.4 (107)

13.7 (31)

Lack of professional satisfaction

25.2 (110)

22.2 (111)

19.9 (45)

On call responsibility

19.0 (83)

17.6 (88)

11.9 (27)

Insufficient reimbursement rates c

20.6 (90)

15.0 (75)

14.6 (33)

Pursuing a non-medical career c

12.2 (53)

17.8 (89)

6.6 (15)

Need to care for young children e

6.4 (28)

18.4 (92)

29.6 (67)

Practice not economically viable

12.8 (56)

11.8 (59)

10.6 (24)

Improvement in personal/family finances

13.1 (57)

9.2 (46)

7.1 (16)

Need to care for other family member(s) e

5.5 (24)

15.2 (76)

6.6 (15)

Hard to keep up with clinical advances

5.5 (24)

5.0 (25)

0.4 (1)

Inadequate practice volume

2.8 (12)

2.0 (10)

0.4 (1)

Other

24.5 (107)

9.4 (147)

32.3 (73)

  1. a Positive responses; multiple response permitted
  2. b No statistics testing of reentered vs. other groups (questions are different)
  3. c P < 0.05, fully retired vs. not currently active
  4. d P < 0.01, fully retired vs. not currently active
  5. e P < 0.001, fully retired vs. not currently active