Abstract
BackgroundChoosing a medical specialty is a poorly understood process. Although studies conducted around the world have attempted to identify the factors that affect medical students’ choice of specialty, data is scarce on the factors that influence the choice of specialty of Saudi Arabian medical students, in particular those planning a career in emergency medicine (EM). In this study, we investigated whether Saudi medical students choosing EM are influenced by different factors to those choosing other specialties.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAUHS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire distributed among all undergraduate and postgraduate medical students of both sexes in the second and third phases (57% were males and 43% were females).ResultsA total of 436 students answered the questionnaire, a response rate of 53.4%. EM group was most influenced by hospital orientation and lifestyle and least influenced by social orientation and prestige provided by their specialty. Unlike controllable lifestyle (CL) group and primary care (PC) group, EM reported lesser influence of social orientation on their career choice. When compared with students primarily interested in the surgical subspecialties (SS), EM group were less likely to report prestige as an important influence. Moreover, students interested in SS reported a leaser influence of medical lifestyle in comparison to EM group. When compared with CL group, EM group reported more interest in medical lifestyle.ConclusionsWe found that students primarily interested in EM had different values and career expectations to other specialty groups. The trends in specialty choice should be appraised to meet future needs.
Highlights
IntroductionStudies conducted around the world have attempted to identify the factors that affect medical students’ choice of specialty, data is scarce on the factors that influence the choice of specialty of Saudi Arabian medical students, in particular those planning a career in emergency medicine (EM)
Choosing a medical specialty is a poorly understood process
The trends in specialty choice should be appraised to meet the future needs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Summary
Studies conducted around the world have attempted to identify the factors that affect medical students’ choice of specialty, data is scarce on the factors that influence the choice of specialty of Saudi Arabian medical students, in particular those planning a career in emergency medicine (EM). Choosing a medical specialty is a complex, poorly understood process with implications for both the student and physician workforces. It is an important predictor of the future supply of doctors in different specialties. Studies conducted around the world, including in the USA [4], Canada [1, 5], Brazil [6], and Japan [7], have attempted to identify the factors that affect medical students’ choice of specialty. One study involving Canadian medical students primarily interested in a career in EM between 2001 and 2004 found that medical lifestyle, hospital orientation, and varied scope of practice play a major role in their career choice [1]
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