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Background: We have previously shown that 2-3 years after completion of their studies, doctors who had followed the study programme Oslo96 spent somewhat more time on updating their skills than other doctors trained at the University of Oslo, but less time than doctors trained at the University of Bergen. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether these differences had changed 5.5-7 years after graduation., Material and Method: We used questionnaire data collected from the last cohort to follow the old programme of study at UiO (graduated 2001), the second cohort to follow the Oslo96 programme (graduated 2003) and the cohort that graduated from the University of Bergen in 2003. Data were collected 5.5-7 years after graduation (T2) and compared to corresponding data collected 2-3 years after graduation (T1). The study included only respondents who had answered all questions at both T1 and T2., Results: The response rate ranged from 55% to 59% in the three samples. At 5.5-7 years after graduation we found no differences with regard to the time spent on updating between Oslo96 doctors (median: 230 minutes/week) and doctors who had graduated before the Oslo96 reform or from the University of Bergen (median: 240 minutes/week in both groups). All three groups reported a statistically significant increase from T1 to T2 in their use of the Internet for purposes of skills updating. Training courses and conferences were the preferred forms of skills updating., Interpretation: A correlation between the programme of study and the doctors' habits with regard to skills updating could not be detected.

Background: Medical education was established in the University of Tromsø in order to recruit doctors to the northern parts of Norway. Earlier publications have shown that this goal has been reached. We wanted to see whether this has remained unchanged during the last few years (1996-2001)., Method: Our material is based on information about 318 doctors educated in Tromsø and 851 doctors educated in Oslo between 1996 and 2001. The medical faculties in Tromsø and Oslo provided us with doctors' names and dates of birth. The Norwegian Medical Association assisted with information about each doctor' practice and place of work., Results: Among doctors educated in Tromsø, the numbers going into general practice are decreasing; the majority of graduates prefer hospital work. A decreasing number take up academic work. Most of the students coming from the northern parts of Norway stay in that region upon graduation (75.4%), but the proportion is lower than earlier. Only 7.5% of doctors educated in Oslo choose to work in the northern parts of Norway., Interpretation: The University of Tromsø is still important in recruiting doctors to the northern regions of Norway, primarily because this university educates students who come from these regions.