Medical Career Choice Research Articles

First-Generation Low-Income Individuals in Medicine: A Scoping Review.

This comprehensive scoping review of the medical literature on first-generation low-income (FGLI) individuals in medicine aimed to synthesize the highest levels of evidence to inform medical education stakeholders. Database searches were conducted in Academic Search Premier, Education Research Premier, ERIC, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Professional Development Collection, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science Core Collection from database inception through March 15, 2023. English-language articles on first-generation or low-income individuals in medicine from U.S. medical schools were included. Articles were evaluated for level of evidence and themes chosen. Database searches resulted in 27,075 citations, 247 of which qualified for data extraction. The articles were classified by evidence level: level I (n = 2), level II (n = 17), level III (n = 90), level IV (n = 78), and level V (n = 60). Publications reported on 9 major outcomes: exam performance (n = 108), medical school performance (n = 63), residency and fellowship performance (n = 7), honor society status (n = 12), leave of absence (n = 9), withdrawal, dismissal, and attrition (n = 20), medical education graduation (n = 37), career choice (n = 109), and intent to practice in disadvantaged and rural communities (n = 60). Compared with their peers, FGLI individuals had lower medical school and standardized exam scores, enrollment in national medical honor societies and multiple degree programs, and graduate medical education performance and higher rates of leaves of absence, incompletion of medical education, pursuing primary care and family medicine specialties, and intent to practice in underserved communities. Despite an increase in the number of FGLI individuals in medicine, there remains significant opportunity to improve their inclusion and support. Multi-institutional, prospective, risk-adjusted, observational studies are required to determine how to best support FGLI individuals through all medical career stages.

Factors Influencing Medical Students' Choice of Anesthesiology as a Future Specialty in Saudi Arabia.

Background According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), anesthesiologists are experts in administering anesthesia, pain management, and critical care medicine. In addition, they provide general perioperative care. Personal interests, career stability, reputation, income, and clinical rotation experience influence medical students' career choices. Studies show that anesthesiology remains one of the least popular specialties among Saudi medical students. Our study aims to determine the preference for anesthesiology among Saudi medical students and the factors influencing their career choice options. Methodology This cross-sectional study was implemented by distributing a self-administered verified survey. Results Our study included 532 medical students, predominantly female (n=344, 64.7%), aged 18-24 years (n=424, 79.7%), and Saudi nationals (n=508, 95.5%). Most were single (n=500, 94%) without children (n=522, 98.1%). A majority were not interested in anesthesiology as a future specialty (n=297, 55.8%), with some uncertainty (n=148, 27.8%) and a smaller interested group (n=87, 16.4%). Controllable lifestyle (n=294, 55.3%) and financial income (n=213, 40%) were critical factors for choosing anesthesiology as a specialty. Interest in another specialty (n=342, 64.3%) and stress (n=286, 53.8%) were significant opposing factors. Academic year significantly affected consideration (p<0.001), with second-year students showing the highest interest (61.8%) and sixth-year the lowest (24.8%). Other factors showed no significant association. Conclusion Our study reveals low interest in anesthesiology among Saudi medical students. A controllable lifestyle and financial income are key attractions. Interest declines significantly by the sixth year due to their interest in other specialties, lifestyle concerns, and stress.

Motivators and Barriers to Career Choices in Community Medicine Among Medical Students in South Punjab, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Background Community medicine plays a vital role in public health, yet research on medical students' career choices in this field is limited, especially in underserved areas like South Punjab, Pakistan. This study explores the factors that influence undergraduate medical students' interest in pursuing a career in community medicine. Methodology A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 305 fourth- and final-year undergraduate medical students from various colleges in South Punjab. Data were collected via a structured online questionnaire, focusing on students' interests, motivations, barriers, and perceptions related to community medicine. Results The survey found that 40% of students showed interest in community medicine, with higher interest among females. Key motivators included preventive healthcare and public health initiatives, while financial constraints and unclear career progression were significant barriers. A gap was noted between students' interest and their perceived preparedness to address public health challenges. Conclusion Female students showed greater interest in community medicine and were more likely to recommend it. Bridging the gap between interest and perceived preparedness requires enhancing practical experiences, increasing the visibility of community medicine successes, and addressing financial and career progression concerns. Implementing these strategies can help attract and retain students in community medicine and improve public health outcomes.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' views of a career in general practice: a focus group study.

General practice is an essential part of healthcare systems in the UK and internationally but continues to struggle with recruitment. Despite this, few studies have explored factors that influence medical students' career choices around primary care. We aimed to revisit factors that had previously been proposed following new ways of working adopted since the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact of these changes on learning experiences in primary care. A qualitative study using focus groups across three English medical schools. Eight focus groups were held involving 33 final and penultimate year medical students. Qualitative data were analysed using a framework approach. Transcripts were coded independently by two researchers from a different institution before themes were identified. Six themes were identified: students' prior career aspirations, their experience of the medical school curriculum, conceptualisation of general practice, future career predictions, views on the school's curriculum philosophy, and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The curriculum philosophy of each school appeared to be important in this journey and changes since the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on all themes. Our study has confirmed previous findings that clinical experiences, the perceived narrative of the school, work-life balance, and working environment remain important to students in making career plans. However, in addition, we have found the changing landscape in general practice since the COVID-19 pandemic, including remote consulting, workload, continuity of care, and team-working, are additional factors that concern students.

Changes in the attractiveness of medical careers and career determinants during the bachelor’s program at Zurich medical schools

BackgroundMonitoring the career intentions of medical students during their undergraduate studies could help to address the shortage of physicians, particularly in general practice. This study aimed to investigate changes in medical students' career openness, attractiveness and determinants of medical career choice during their bachelor’s studies.MethodsThe design was cross-sectional, recruiting all medical students who started a bachelor’s program in one of the four different educational tracks in Zurich, Switzerland, in the fall of 2019 (first survey) and completed it in the summer of 2022 (second survey). Students’ perceptions of the attractiveness and determinants of different medical career options were assessed using a structured online questionnaire. Absolute changes between the two-time points were reported in percentage points overall and by educational track. Regression analysis was used to examine the association of student characteristics and determinants of career options with the attractiveness of each option.ResultsWe surveyed 354 medical students at the beginning and 433 at the end of the bachelor’s program (participation rate: 71.1% and 86.9%, respectively). Overall, the proportion of students open to all proposed medical career options decreased (from 52.8% to 43.8%, p = 0.004). The attractiveness of outpatient gynecology or pediatrics increased (from 27.4% to 43.4%, p < 0.001), whereas the attractiveness of both general and specialized inpatient care decreased (from 47.8% to 40.3%, p = 0.05 and from 71.1% to 61.1%, p = 0.006 respectively). There was an increase in the proportion of students who perceived part-time work, autonomy and relationships with patients as important career determinants (from 47.3% to 64.7%, p < 0.001; from 63.3% to 77.8%, p < 0.001; from 80.8% to 89.3%, p = 0.002 respectively), while the importance of reputation and career opportunities decreased (from 42.6% to 26.2%, p < 0.001; from 79.2% to 63.6%, p < 0.001 respectively). The importance of part-time work and relationships with patients were positively associated with the attractiveness of general practice.ConclusionsDuring the bachelor’s program, the attractiveness of a career in general practice tended to decrease, but the importance of part-time work, autonomy and relationships with patients as career determinants increased. Helping students understand how these determinants relate to general practice may increase their interest in the profession.Trial registrationNot applicable.

The Influence of COVID on Emergency Medicine Career Choice: A Survey of Medical Students.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to substantial changes in the delivery of healthcare and medical education. Little is known about how the pandemic has altered medical students' perceptions in regard to career choice. Methods The authors developed and implemented a multi-center survey that evaluated medical students' preferred career choice before and during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the influence of pandemic-related factors on that choice. The survey was distributed to all levels of medical students (MS) at nine medical schools across the country from November 2020 to January 2021 and represented a convenience sample. Preferred career choice was assessed through the use of a Likert scale and additional factors affecting career choice were solicited.The degree of interest before and during the pandemic, as well as factors influencing the shift, were treated as ordinal variables and compared using chi-squared testing. Cohen's Kappa statistic was calculated to assess the degree of shifts of interest in Emergency Medicine among students. The study was deemed exempt by the Institutional Review Board at the host institution, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, and all participating sites. Results A total of 1431 of 6710 (21.3%) eligible students completed the survey. The COVID pandemic was cited as a reason for a changed interest in specialty by 193 (13.5%) students.The most common reason for specialty change was the students' clinical experience, followed by a desire to be on the front lines, and personal/family health concerns. There was a significant association between career change and degree of interest among students interested in emergency medicine (EM) as their future specialty before the COVID pandemic as well as during the COVID pandemic. Living with an immunocompromised individual had a significant association with a reducedinterest in EM. There was a significant association between EM rotation completion and how interested students were in EM as their future specialty before the COVID pandemic and during the COVID pandemic. Among EM-interested students whose specialty interest was changed by the COVID pandemic, 34 (41.5%) became less favorable to EM, 28 (34.2%) stayed the same, and 20 (24.4%) students became more favorable to EM. Conclusions The impact of COVID-19 on medical students' career choice is a complicated matter that involves both personal and professional factors. It appears that there is a trend towards less interest in the field of EM with multifactorial influences, some of which are related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The trajectory and transition pattern of intention to practice medicine among medical students in China

There has been a growing concern about the career intentions (whether medical students have the intention to practice medicine) due to the increasingly serious problem of medical students attrition. Career intentions have the potential to promote medical students' career commitment and encourage them to stay in the medical profession. Moreover, a series of dynamic career intentions during medical education can be served as an early guide to the medical students' future career choices (whether medical students finally choose to practice medicine). However, few studies focus on the dynamics of career intentions among medical students. In this study, we utilized data from a large-scale national survey of medical students conducted in China from 2020 to 2022 to curve the trajectory of the intention to practice medicine among medical students during their undergraduate medical education by using multilevel growth model. Furthermore, we applied latent Markov model to estimate the transition matrix of the intention across each academic year during the undergraduate medical education. Our findings revealed a trajectory curve with a peak during the second year in the intention to practice medicine. In addition, we identified three latent states of career intention including “strong intention”, “wavering” and “weak intention”, and further found two distinct transition patterns between individuals with strong career intentions and those without strong career intentions. The transition patterns play a crucial role in understanding the changes in the trajectory of medical students’ intentions and determining the optimal timing for interventions to prevent medical student attrition. Our study offers a comprehensive understanding for the dynamics of the career intention among medical students, which has practical implications for medical educators and institutions to address the issues of medical student attrition.

Exploring Medical Career Choice to Better Inform Swiss Physician Workforce Planning: Protocol for a National Cohort Study.

A medical student's career choice directly influences the physician workforce shortage and the misdistribution of resources. First, individual and contextual factors related to career choice have been evaluated separately, but their interaction over time is unclear. Second, actual career choice, reasons for this choice, and the influence of national political strategies are currently unknown in Switzerland. The overall objective of this study is to better understand the process of Swiss medical students' career choice and to predict this choice. Our specific aims will be to examine the predominately static (ie, sociodemographic and personality traits) and predominately dynamic (ie, learning context perceptions, anxiety state, motivation, and motives for career choice) variables that predict the career choice of Swiss medical school students, as well as their interaction, and to examine the evolution of Swiss medical students' career choice and their ultimate career path, including an international comparison with French medical students. The Swiss Medical Career Choice study is a national, multi-institution, and longitudinal study in which all medical students at all medical schools in Switzerland are eligible to participate. Data will be collected over 4 years for 4 cohorts of medical students using questionnaires in years 4 and 6. We will perform a follow-up during postgraduate training year 2 for medical graduates between 2018 and 2022. We will compare the different Swiss medical schools and a French medical school (the University of Strasbourg Faculty of Medicine). We will also examine the effect of new medical master's programs in terms of career choice and location of practice. For aim 2, in collaboration with the Swiss Institute for Medical Education, we will implement a national career choice tracking system and identify the final career choice of 2 cohorts of medical students who graduated from 4 Swiss medical schools from 2010 to 2012. We will also develop a model to predict their final career choice. Data analysis will be conducted using inferential statistics, and machine learning approaches will be used to refine the predictive model. This study was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation in January 2023. Recruitment began in May 2023. Data analysis will begin after the completion of the first cohort data collection. Our research will inform national stakeholders and medical schools on the prediction of students' future career choice and on key aspects of physician workforce planning. We will identify targeted actions that may be implemented during medical school and may ultimately influence career choice and encourage the correct number of physicians in the right specialties to fulfill the needs of currently underserved regions. DERR1-10.2196/53138.

Gender Biases Influencing Female Medical Students' Career Choice in Orthopaedics!

Madam, The choice of specialisation by medical students is influenced by a variety of factors, including the specialty's perceived credibility, parental influence, work-life balance, money, cultural background, rotations in the clinic, mentors' experiences, etc. In various medical professions gender disparity persists, in conventionally male-dominated specialties, despite rising numbers of women in medical schools and clinical practice regions globally. Inevitably, there were statistically substantial gender variations in the medical specialties chosen by male and female doctors, with the majority of men choosing surgery and orthopaedics.1

Potential Impact of COVID-19 on Medical Career Aspirations of Prospective Students.

This article describes the evolving landscape of medical education in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the renewed importance of public health, mental well-being, and career choices among medical students. The pandemic has prompted a significant shift in medical student's career aspirations, highlighting the need for mental health support mechanisms within the medical education framework. Medical students' career choices are influenced directly and indirectly by the challenges and experiences of the pandemic era, which are discussed in this article under four key themes: traditional values, global health interests and disparities, developing trends, and digital healthcare. There is an urgent need to adjust medical training to the new reality and share the future directions of the medical education landscape by embracing diverse career paths in medicine, integrating technology into medical training, adapting to the changing context of medicine, and strengthening collaboration and communication. The pandemic underscores the importance of evidence-based patient care, necessitating the preparation of tomorrow's doctors to address the emerging healthcare challenges with resilience, adaptability, and a comprehensive understanding of both local and global health challenges.

LONELINESS AMONG INVOLUNTARILY CHILDLESS OLDER ADULTS: A LIFE COURSE PERSPECTIVE

Abstract To this day, having children is seen as the norm, and the consequences in later life when a child wish is not fulfilled are rarely addressed. Therefore, this study investigates the reasons for involuntary childlessness as well as the relationship with potential feelings of loneliness throughout the life course of older adults. Data were collected through individual life story interviews using the McAdams life story interview (N=15) with involuntary childless adults older than 60 living in Belgium. Using a thematic analysis, the results firstly indicate that respondents expressed several reasons for their involuntary childlessness, such as medical reasons, advancing age, career choices and opportunities, partner status and traumas during the life course. Secondly, involuntary childlessness impacts negatively on individual well-being on the one hand, by experiencing feelings of emptiness and deficiency, but on the other hand, having more free time and flexibility during the life course within the social network is perceived as positive. Thirdly, from the moment people realized they would never have children, feelings of loneliness arose. Also, once peers did have (grand)children, or during holiday seasons (e.g., Christmas Day), loneliness feelings became more prevalent compared to earlier in life. However, feelings of loss and emptiness (e.g., missing someone to pass on norms and values to) prevailed over loneliness feelings. The discussion highlights the extent to which older people pick up where they left off and constitute their lives meaningfully at various levels (i.e., at individual level and regarding social relations) when their child wish was never fulfilled.

A Qualitative Analysis of Medical Student Reflections Following Participation in a Canadian Radiation Oncology Studentship.

Exposure to radiation oncology in medical school curricula is limited; thus, mentorship and research opportunities like the Dr. Pamela Catton SummerStudentship Program attempt to bridge this gap and stimulate interest in the specialty. In 2021, the studentship was redesigned as virtual research, mentorship, and case-based discussions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on the studentship, on students' perceptions of the program, and on medical training and career choice. Fifteen studentship completion essays during 2021-2022 were obtained and anonymized. Thematic analysis was performed to interpret the essays with NVivo. Two independent reviewers coded the essays. Themes were established by identifying connections between coded excerpts. Consensus was achieved through multiple rounds of discussion and iteratively reviewing each theme. Representative quotes were used to illustrate the themes. The themes confirmed the studentship was feasible during the pandemic. Perceived benefits of the program included mentorship and networking opportunities; gaining practical and fundamental knowledge in radiation oncology; developing clinical and research skills; and creating positive attitudes towards radiation oncology and the humanistic aspect of the field. The studentship supported medical specialty selection by helping define student values, shaping perceptions of the specialty, and promoting self-reflection upon students' personal needs. This study informs future iterations of the studentship to promote radiation oncology in Canadian medical school curricula. It serves as a model for studentships in other specialties that have limited exposure and similar challenges with medical student recruitment.

Factors associated with medical students' career choices at a private university: a cross-sectional study

This study aimed to identify the factors associated with students’ career choices and the decision whether they wanted to be trained abroad or in Pakistan. The study utilised a cross-sectional design and was conducted between July 2021 and February 2022. An anonymous survey was distributed among the medical students at Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. All analysis was carried out using Stata 17. A total of 269 students participated in the study. The most sought-after specialties were surgery 68 (25.3%), medicine 25(9.3%), and paediatrics 14(5.2%), and the decision was highly influenced by positive mentors and lifestyle. In addition, 259 (96%) of the students expressed a desire to practice abroad for training due to higher financial prospects and quality of training. This study revealed that providing enthusiastic mentors may encourage medical students to pursue a broader range of specialties. ---Continue

Medical Student Career Perceptions of Cardiac Surgery and Cardiology

Medical students' career choices are influenced by many factors. However, it is unclear how perceptions of cardiology and cardiac surgery affect students' career choices in either specialty. This study assessed impact of advice on specialty interest, sources of advice, and what factors were associated with interest in cardiology and/or cardiac surgery. Important sources of advice were peers, preceptors, lectures, and clinical experiences. Interest in minimally invasive/new technologies and procedure-based care were the most common persuading factors in cardiac surgery and cardiology. Medical educators should acknowledge the importance of early exposure in their field, involvement in lectures, and extracurricular events.

Medical Students' Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence in Radiology: The Current Understanding and Impact on Radiology as a Future Specialty Choice.

Medical students' career choices and motivations might be significantly impacted by the rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and the recent hype around it. This study aimed to assess the impact of AI on medical students' preferences for radiology as a future specialty choice. A cross-sectional study was conducted between October and December 2021 among all medical students in the three regional medical colleges in Al-Qassim Province, Saudi Arabia. The survey resulted in 319 complete responses. Among the respondents, 26.96% considered radiology to be one of their top three future specialty choices. Only a minority of the respondents (23.2%) believed that radiologists would be replaced by AI during their lifetime. The misperceptions of the potential impact of AI led 22.26% of the students to be less likely to consider a career in radiology. Students with an interest in radiology were less influenced by such misperceptions (p=.01). Based on self-reported confidence measures, the basic understanding of AI was higher among students with an interest in radiology and students with prior exposure to AI (p<.05). The students' preferences for radiology as a future specialty choice were influenced by their misperceptions of the potential impact of AI on the discipline. Students' interest in radiology and prior exposure to AI helped them grasp AI and eliminate the hype around it.

Medicine as a career choice: a comprehensive study on factors influencing Sudanese students to opt in/out medical career

BackgroundThe medical profession is one of the most highly respected and desired professions among students worldwide, most likely because it provides opportunities for both a financially and socially rewarding career. However, while it has been quite established that factors such as self-interest, family pressure, friend pressure, and socioeconomic status do influence the choice of medicine among students worldwide, the exact reasons for an individual to join a medical school may actually vary worldwide. The aim of this study was to comprehensively explore factors influencing medical students to opt in/out medical careers in Sudan.MethodsAn institutional based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at University of Khartoum in the year 2022 with a random sample of 330 students that was obtained from the medical students at the The University of Khartoum, Faculty of Medicine using stratified random sampling.ResultsSelf-interest was the most common factor influencing opting in (choosing) medical profession (70.6%) (n = 233), followed by getting a very high score in high-school that qualifies into the faculty (55.5%) (n = 183). Regarding the factors affecting medical students’ choices, parental pressure was the main factor (37.0%) (n = 122), followed by other relatives’ pressure (12.4%) (n = 41), and 4.2% (n = 14) chose Peer pressure. 59.7% (n = 197) of the participants stated that they were not affected by any of these factors. Most of the participants felt that the general perception of the medical profession by society is that it is prestigious and has good career opportunities, only 5.8% (n = 19) believed that it is “Not appreciated at all” by the society. A statistically significant association was found between the type of admission & parent pressure (p value 0.01). out of 330 participants, (56.1%) (n = 185) have opted out i.e. lost their interest or regretted their choice of medical career. Academic difficulties was the most common factor causing students to opt-out of the medical career (37%) (n = 122) followed by Multiple suspensions of education (35.2%) (n = 116), Current political & security conflicts in Sudan (29.7%) (n = 98), Poor quality of education (24.8%). The proportion of students having regrets for the medical profession was significantly higher among females. Over one third of the participants reported having depressive symptoms more than half days of the week. No statically significant correlation was established between the academic level and having these depressive symptoms and no statistically significant correlation was established between the decision to opt-out and the academic level (class) of the individuals (P = 0.105).ConclusionsOver half of Sudanese medical students at the University of Khartoum have already lost their interest or regretted their choice of medical career choice. Whether these future doctor chose to drop out or continue their path in the medical career suggests that they are more prone to serious hardships in their future careers. A careful comprehensive approach should further explore and try to offer solutions for problems like “Academic difficulties”, “multiple suspension of education”, and “poor quality of education” for they were the most common factors that caused medical students to opt out of the medical career.

Well-being at a Military Medical School and Implications for Military Retention

Physical and psychological well-being play a critical role in the academic and professional development of medical students and can alter the trajectory of a student's quality of personal and professional life. Military medical students, given their dual role as officer and student, experience unique stressors and issues that may play a role in their future intentions to continue military service, as well as practice medicine. As such, this study explores well-being across the 4 years of medical school at Uniformed Services University (USU) and how well-being relates to a student's likelihood to continue serving in the military and practicing medicine.In September 2019, 678 USU medical students were invited to complete a survey consisting of three sections-the Medical Student Well-being Index (MSWBI), a single-item burnout measure, and six questions regarding their likelihood of staying in the military and medical practice. Survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and contingency table analysis. Additionally, thematic analysis was conducted on open-ended responses included as part of the likelihood questions.Our MSWBI and burnout scores suggest that the overall state of well-being among medical students at USU is comparable to other studies of the medical student population. ANOVA revealed class differences among the four cohorts, highlighted by improved well-being scores as students transitioned from clerkships to their fourth-year curriculum. Fewer clinical students (MS3s and MS4s), compared to pre-clerkship students, indicated a desire to stay in the military. In contrast, a higher percentage of clinical students seemed to "reconsider" their medical career choice compared to their pre-clerkship student counterparts. "Medicine-oriented" likelihood questions were associated with four unique MSWBI items, whereas "military-oriented" likelihood questions were associated with one unique MSWBI item.The present study found that the overall state of well-being in USU medical students is satisfactory, but opportunities for improvement exist. Medical student well-being seemed to have a stronger association with medicine-oriented likelihood items than with military-oriented likelihood items. To obtain and refine best practices for strengthening engagement and commitment, future research should examine if and how military and medical contexts converge and diverge throughout training. This may enhance the medical school and training experience and, ultimately, reinforce, or strengthen, the desire and commitment to practice and serve in military medicine.

Career trends &amp; influences on medical career choice among female medical students

Objective: To determine the factors that influence the future career choice among female medical students of Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU). Study Design: Descriptive Cross Sectional study. Setting: Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi. Period: 1st July 2021 to 31st August 2021. Material &amp; Methods: Female students of 3rd, 4th and final year MBBS were included. Students were asked to complete a pre-designed questionnaire, which included demographic details and parameters such as, marital status, plan to have children in future, house job and post graduation preferances. Results: Four hundred fifty three students were included in this study. 69.8% students were neither married nor engaged. 32.5% had no intention of extending their family in next 5 years. Majority of the students (73.1%) chose medical profession on their own wish. About 96.2% females were planning to do house job. Out of these, 97.5% had already planned to pursue their post graduation. A quarter of medical students planned to pursue postgraduate training as well as family progression in the next 5 years (66.7% vs 25.7%). Current marital status, family extension in next 5 years, and reasons for adopting medical profession were found to be statistically significant, when compared to future career progression. (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: Female medical students in pakistan are becoming more career oriented and taking decisions independently.

Determining Factors Influencing Specialty Preferences of Iranian Medical Doctors: A Qualitative Study.

Background: The medical specialty choice of physicians directly affects the healthcare system, community wellbeing, and their own professional life. It is therefore important to identify its underlying factors to predict such medical career choices and to draw up a comprehensive evidence-based public health policy and health human resources planning. The present qualitative study aimed to identify these determinants of career choices through semi-structured interviews with medical doctors in the context of country-specific social and cultural characteristics.Methods: The present qualitative study was carried out in 2019-2020 at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (Shiraz, Iran). The target population was medical students, junior doctors, and medical residents. The purposive sampling method was used to recruit the participants and sampling continued until data saturation, i.e., no new information could be extracted. Data were collected through individual, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the conventional content analysis method. Inductive thematic analysis was used to interpret the data based on which a thematic map was developed illustrating the factors influencing medical specialty preferences in Iran. Data trustworthiness was assessed according to the criteria proposed by Guba and Lincoln.Results: Analysis of the interview data resulted in three main themes and fourteen sub-themes. The main themes were “Personal determinants”, “Career-related factors”, and “Interpersonal influences”. The most important sub-themes were personal interests, income, and prestige.Conclusion: The determinants influencing the specialty preferences of Iranian medical doctors are identified. Our findings will facilitate the development of a comprehensive evidence-based public health policy, health human resources planning, and appropriate medical education policy.

Inquiry Into Physicians’ Scope of Practice in Japanese Rural Hospitals During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Serial Cross-Sectional Study

IntroductionPhysicians' scope of practice (SoP) depends on clinical settings and is related to how motivated they feel. The clarification and differences in the SoP in each clinical setting are necessary for physicians’ careers. This study aimed to investigate how coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected physicians’ SoP.MethodsThis serial cross-sectional study compares the differences in physicians’ SoP among Japanese rural community hospitals between 2018 and 2020. The participants were admitted patients in the internal medicine wards of the two community hospitals in urban and rural districts in the rural prefecture (Shimane) of Japan from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2020. We calculated the number of health problems among the highest 50% of all health problems for each physician (SoP-50%) and used it as an indicator of the comprehensiveness of clinical practice.ResultsThe study found that SoP-50% was significantly higher in rural districts in 2018 (p = 0.0209). This trend remained unchanged even during the COVID-19 in 2020 (p = 0.0441). While there was a significant regional difference in the SoP, pre and post-COVID-19 analysis of the SoP in each region did not show any significant change.ConclusionThis is the first study to indicate that greater comprehensiveness of clinical practice is required in the districts of rural Japan. The findings can be helpful for physicians’ medical education and career choices.