Exploring The Reasons Of Discontinuation Of Practicing Medicine Among Female Medical Students In Karachi

Abstract

From the late nineteenth century onwards, women in both industrial and nonindustrial countries have entered the most skilled and up to date branches of professions. The number has increased but in some fields women are dominating. The medical profession is one such field in which women are concentrated. The ratio is alike in Pakistan where girls dominate enrolment in medical colleges. More than 70% of students are females in medical colleges in urban areas especially Punjab and Sindh. Regrettably, not all of them end up practicing medicine. The objective of the study was to explore the reason for the high drop out. The study was conducted with a total 60 female medical graduates from different government and private hospitals of Karachi. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to do face to face interviews. The results show that most of them leave due to marriage and home responsibilities. The medical field has its own demands and to fulfill those responsibilities family, society and institutions have to help the woman medical profession to manage it. Otherwise, a human resource will be lost every year. It is also important to review the policies from time to time because to fulfill the needs of health services it is a reality that we need more doctors.