Factors affecting the decision to choose family medicine as a specialty among medical interns at King Abdul-Aziz University

Abstract

Background: Family medicine is one of the primary specialties in medicine. This study aims to obtain in-depth information from medical interns at King Abdul-Aziz University in Saudi Arabia who are interested in choosing family medicine as their future specialty and highlight key points of misconception and knowledge gaps regarding family medicine that might affect their decision-making process. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2021 to October 2021 among medical interns enrolled at King Abdul-Aziz University. Data were collected via online questionnaires distributed on social media. The study excluded first- to sixth-year medical students. The questionnaire included sex, grade point average, perception of family medicine as a future specialty, and knowledge about the family medicine residency program in Saudi Arabia. We used IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Statistics for Windows, Version 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) for data analysis. p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Most participants reported preferring a medical specialty during their clinical and internship years. Most participants had moderate to high levels of perception of family medicine as a future specialty. Regarding the level of perception of possible rotation during the family medicine program, most participants considered internal medicine, and fewer than 50% considered pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN). Conclusions: Half of the participants preferred a medical specialty as a future career, including a family medicine specialty. Interns had misconceptions regarding extra rotations outside of internal medicine, pediatrics, and OB/GYN rotations offered during the Saudi residency program.