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However, decision regret regarding subspecialty selection has been underexplored, despite its potential impact on well-being and retention.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional study was conducted among 615 young and middle-aged physicians (aged 25\u201355) from secondary and tertiary hospitals in China. Participants completed an online questionnaire including the Decision Regret Scale (DRS), a simplified Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Statistical analyses involved ANOVA, Spearman\u2019s correlation, and multivariate linear regression to identify factors associated with decision regret.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Among participants, 9.4% reported high regret, 37.6% moderate regret, and 53.0% low regret. Higher regret was significantly associated with male gender (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.039), younger age (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.019), and higher professional title (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.003). Regression analysis revealed that greater burnout (B\u2009=\u20091.521,\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.001) predicted higher regret, while higher job satisfaction (B = \u2212\u20090.339,\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.001) and resilience (B = \u2212\u20090.588,\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.001) were protective factors.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Nearly one in five young and middle-aged Chinese physicians experience high regret in subspecialty choice, influenced by gender, age, burnout, satisfaction, and resilience. Targeted interventions addressing these factors may mitigate regret and enhance physician well-being and retention.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-026-08858-9","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T06:05:30Z","timestamp":1771913130000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The burden of choice: decision regret in subspecialty selection among young and middle-aged doctors"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Peixuan","family":"Guan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maosha","family":"Fu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Feng","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Liru","family":"Hou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Weiyu","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"8858_CR1","unstructured":"National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 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