Specialty preferences and factors affecting future career choice among medical graduates in Saudi

Abstract

Aims: Our study was conducted to study the future specialty choices and the influencing factors among Saudi medical students. Settings and Design: Convenience study. Methods and Materials: An online questionnaire was sent to medical students during the period from February to April 2019 with the aim of analyzing the most desired specialty, the reasons behind choosing, and the different factors playing a role in choosing those specialties. Statistical Analysis Used: The results were analyzed by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 21. Differences in means were analyzed using t-test. The Chi-square test was used to identify significant differences among groups with a significance level set a P ≥ 0.05. Results: A convenience sample of 579 students has completed the survey. Most of the students did not receive any advice for choosing their specialty preferred. The three most desired specialties by both genders (males/females) are surgery, internal medicine, and cardiac surgery, respectively. The data revealed that nearly 42% of students did not receive any advice regarding their preferred career. Interesting cases, challenging, good lifestyle, and impact on patient quality of life were important reasons in selecting all specialties. Conclusion: A variety of factors appear to inspire medical students to choose a future career intention in Saudi Arabia. Some career measures and guidance are needed by university mentors and health policymakers to encourage those specialties that are scarce in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords

• medical students
• questionnaire
• specialty