MedEdPublish (Aug 2020)
Obstetrics and Gynaecology as career maze: Perceptions of medical students in Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Background Over time, there has been a gradual decline in the selection of obstetrics and gynecology (OBGY) as a career choice worldwide, which is of great concern for the medical educators, stakeholders, and policymakers to optimize the demand of this specialty. Objective To explore the perceptions of medical students about the attractive and distracting factors to choose obstetrics and gynecology. Method The focused group discussion was conducted from September 2019 to December 2019 and thematic analysis was done based on grounded theory. Results In the study, a total of 49 students participated out of 75 expected participants, and the response rate was 65%. Few participants who agreed to continue their careers in this field supported their ideas because of female gender acceptance for this specialty in Saudi culture, opportunity to observe procedures, and family pressures. The main reason was the tough experience during OBGY clinical rotations, the clinician's attitude towards training at the hospital workplace, and work stress. Conclusion There is a profound influence on learning experience during the course and clinical training in hospital settings. The positive impact of teaching faculty, successful stories of patients, and teaching techniques supported by simulations can provoke the enthusiasm in the students. A mnemonic "BE SMART" is proposed to apply by medical educators to optimize the need of OBGY specialists in the future. It applies the abilities of true professionals indicated by doctors as beneficent, educators; enforces to augment the use of simulators as teaching modality; practices of meditation, and affectionate the mutual relationships.
