The Impact of Medical Careers Fairs on the Career Aspirations of Medical Students

Hassaan Waqar,Philippa James

doi:10.15694/mep.2019.000041.1

Hassaan Waqar, Philippa James

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2019.000041.1

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Abstract

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Careers fairs are a popular way to showcase specialties and encourage medical students to start career planning. There is very little information on the impact these fairs have. This study sets out to measure this impact and define which factors are important when making career decisions.The results show that the careers fair had an impact on the career choices of attendees but the reasons for these choices remained the same. Results also showed that the majority of attendees felt the careers fair was beneficial. In light of the GP recruitment crisis it is also interesting to note that responses ranking this specialty highly increased post fair.

Highlights

Careers fairs are a popular way for medical specialties to showcase opportunities to trainees and drive recruitment
The results show that the careers fair had an impact on the career choices of attendees but the reasons for these choices remained the same
It appears to be unclear when trainees decide which speciality they will pursue as a career and as a result it is worth looking at the effect of careers fairs on the career aspirations of medical students to ascertain their utility in solving the future medical workforce problem

Summary

Introduction

Careers fairs are a popular way for medical specialties to showcase opportunities to trainees and drive recruitment. The questionnaire found that the majority of students found the careers fair "helped highlight future career choices" and that the majority would be interested in attending further local careers fairs It is clear from Health Education England Specialty recruitment data (HEE NHS, 2017) that training programmes for specialities such as General Practice, Psychiatry have had low fill rates in past years. The exact reasons for this shortage are multifactorial and numerous, as are the possible solutions, raising awareness of specialties through careers fairs may be a way of encouraging applications to shortage specialities It appears to be unclear when trainees decide which speciality they will pursue as a career and as a result it is worth looking at the effect of careers fairs on the career aspirations of medical students to ascertain their utility in solving the future medical workforce problem

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