Attitude of clinical medical students to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery as a career: a perspective from two English Medical Schools

Abstract

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) has been increasing in popularity amongst medicine first trainees. Despite this, there is still limited exposure at the undergraduate level. This study aimed to: evaluate the experience of medical students in the field of OMFS, the awareness of medical students to OMFS resources/societies and to determine the greatest motivators and deterrents for students in pursuing a career in OMFS. An online survey was distributed to 198 students spread across two English universities. 131 students (66.2%) were from University A and 67 (33.8%) students were from University B. A total of 61.1% of undergraduate medical students had no exposure to OMFS up until their current stage of training with no statistically significant differences in OMFS exposure between the year groups (p>0.05). 37% of students considered OMFS as a potential career path with dual qualification being the deterrent in 44% of cases. 97.0% of students were not able to state any organisations/resources available to support them in pursuing a career in OMFS. Within our cohort exposure to OMFS was greater than earlier reports, however; undergraduate exposure to OMFS is still very limited in UK medical schools. Conducting a dental degree following the primary medical qualification appears to be the greatest obstacle to students considering OMFS training. OMFS remains unknown to medical students and healthcare professionals. We need grass root changes at undergraduate level to improve the future of OMFS training.