Abstract
Background: Turkey has a marked increase in the proportion of female medical students and graduates doctors compared to males. However, females are still underrepresented in some disciplines and grouped in other branches of medicine. It is essential to regularly assess the medical students' trends toward the specialty and avoid the shortage and maldistribution in some critical specialties. This study aims to investigate the gender differences in Turkish medical students’ specialty preferences and influencing factors.
 Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among final year students at the Bezmialem Vakif University (BVU), Faculty of Medicine in Istanbul, Turkey. Data collected from March to April 2018 using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire included socio-demographic characteristics of the population, first choices for specialization, and the factors influencing those choices. An independent sample t-test performed to test the gender differences in different influencing factors. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.
 Results: A total of seventy (70) students (response rate of 69.5 %) included in the data analysis. The mean age of total respondents was 24.9 ± 0.96 (ranged 23-27), and the male to female ratio of students was approximately 1:1.4. Out of nineteen (19) factors, statistically significant gender differences noted in the mean scores of six factors. Male students were more influenced by family expectations (2.76 ± 0.87, p=0.008), geographical consideration (2.97 ± 0.91, p=0.053), and high income expectations (2.90 ± 0.90, p=0.024) compared to female students. However, female students were more influenced by personal interests (3.61 ± 0.49, p=0.041), personality characteristics (3.59 ± 0.55, p=0.010) and malpractice (2.73 ± 1.03, p=0.015) compared to male students.
 Conclusion: There is a significant difference between the sexes in terms of priorities; family, income, and geographical distribution significantly impacted on men, while women were more concerned with lifestyle, well-being and avoiding responsibility.
Highlights
Turkey has a marked increase in the proportion of female medical students and graduates doctors compared to males
This study aims to report the gender differences in the specialty choices and factors influencing these choices among medical students at a private university in Turkey
Similar to previous studies from other countries, this study showed that gender differences were associated with factors such as lifestyle, role models, and personal interests
Summary
Turkey has a marked increase in the proportion of female medical students and graduates doctors compared to males. And in different parts of the world, women have been prohibited from working in the medical field, which was often an exclusive field for males. The female has struggled for many centuries to demonstrate her ability to perform challenging professions such as medicine. In the societies that allowed women to practice medicine, the work was informal and limited to midwifery, nursing, and women's health [1]. Women have acquired the right to enroll in medical education institutions since the eighteenth century. The number of women working in the health sector continued to fluctuate until the end of the twentieth century [2].
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