Interest and perceived barriers toward careers in academic medicine among medical students at Alfaisal University – College of Medicine: A Saudi Arabian perspective

Abu‐Zaid, Ahmed; Altinawi, Basmah; Eshaq, Abdulaziz M; Alkhatib, Lynn; Hoilat, Judie; Kadan, Sana; Alshammari, Mai; Farfour, Aya; Obeidat, Akef; Alkattan, Khaled

doi:10.1080/0142159x.2018.1465533

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Past research in the area has often focused on a particular stage of career development,16 17 a particular population4 18 or a particular factor that affects equitable participation 19–21. Our aim is to examine this body of literature as a whole and to synthesise the full continuum of factors affecting equitable participation, retention and success in clinical academia at all stages of the pipeline.…”

Section: Review Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors impacting on retention, success and equitable participation in clinical academic careers: a scoping review and meta-thematic synthesis

2020

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Strengths and limitations of this study ► Our review consolidates the full continuum of factors affecting equitable participation in clinical academia at all stages of the pipeline and across a range of protected characteristics. ► Our findings will have limited relevance to nursing, midwifery, allied health professions or other geographies where there may be divergent issues in relation to gender, sexuality and ethnicity or the nature of clinical academia. ► The majority of papers identified in the scoping review focused on gender, therefore the factors identified within each theme may not fully represent issues related to ethnicity and sexual orientation. No studies related to disability were identified. ► Policy is in constant transition and it will need to be studied and addressed locally. This paper focused on current UK policy as an illustrative case. AbStrACtObjectives To examine and synthesise current evidence on the factors that affect recruitment, retention, participation and progression within the clinical academic pathway, focusing on equitable participation across protected characteristics including gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Design Scoping review and meta-thematic synthesis. Data sources Web of Science, Google Scholar. Article selection We conducted a scoping review of English language articles on factors affecting recruitment, retention, progression and equitable participation in clinical academic careers published in North America, Australasia and Western Europe between January 2005 and April 2019. The most recent and relevant 39 articles were selected for meta-thematic synthesis using detailed inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data extraction The articles were purposively sampled to cover protected characteristics and career stages and coded for factors related to equitable participation. 17 articles were fully coded. No new themes arose after nine papers. Themes and higher level categories were derived through an iterative consensual process. results 13 discrete themes of factors impacting on equitable participation were identified including societal attitudes and expectations; national and organisational policies, priorities and resourcing; academic and clinical workplace cultures; supportive, discriminatory and compensatory interpersonal behaviours and personal factors related to social capital, finances, competing priorities, confidence and ambition, and orientation to clinical, academic and leadership roles.Conclusions The broad and often interconnected nature of these factors suggests that interventions will need to address structural and cultural factors as well as individual needs. In addition to standard good practice on equality and diversity, we suggest that organisations provide equitable support towards early publication success and targeted mentoring; address financial and role insecurity; address the clinical workplace culture; mitigate clinical-academic-personal role conflicts and overload; ensure that promotional structures and processes encourage diverse applicants an...

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Section: Review Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors impacting on retention, success and equitable participation in clinical academic careers: a scoping review and meta-thematic synthesis

2020

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“…The interns' colleagues showed similar inclinations, with 46.6% indicating that having a pregnant colleague would increase their own workloads. The choices of medical students have also been shown to be affected by the lack of same-sex role models in certain medical fields (Abu-Zaid et al, 2018). The lack of same-sex role models in Arabic countries can be extreme, such as in Kuwait, where despite the fact that almost 62% of civil engineering undergraduates being female, 94 percent of the faculty members were male (Al-Fares and Al-Abdulmuhsen, 2008).…”

Section: The Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender, education, and career in the Arab world: A literature review

Mozahem

2021

Research in Education

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The underrepresentation of females in certain fields has been studied extensively in many countries. Similar to other parts of the World, the number of females graduating each year from universities in the Arab World now exceeds the number of males, yet gender differences in educational fields persist. The objective of this study is to review the extant literature on the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in the Arab World. The review synthesizes the findings of 86 articles that were published in journals and conference proceedings. This review explores gender differences in mathematics performance, math anxiety, self-concept, and occupational career choices. The review also explores social barriers that contribute to the underrepresentation of females in STEM fields. The study highlights differences between results obtained in the Arab World and results obtained in Western countries while also noting the differences between the Arab countries themselves. Finally, the study suggests directions for future research.

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“…Additionally, this study mentioned barriers perceived by female medical students in Saudi Arabia toward careers in academic medicine. These barriers included a lack of female role models in academic medicine and the presence of competing pressures to ful ll teaching/research, clinical duties, and family obligations [11]. On the other hand, one study from Abha, Saudi Arabia suggested that there was no relationship between gender and barriers toward conducting medical research in Saudi Arabia [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Qualitative Study Exploring Female Students’ Perspectives on Medical Research Opportunities in Saudi Arabia

Wilson,

Elmokattaf,

Aljumaa

et al. 2023

Preprint

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While researchers have made great strides over the years in expanding opportunities for women in medical research, some gender imbalance persists, particularly in the context of the Arab world. The purpose of our study was to discover obstacles that female medical students have faced in conducting research. We conducted our study at a small private university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and we used a qualitative, feminist methodology. To address our research questions, we conducted 4 group interviews of 21 female undergraduate medical students who had experience participating in research projects. The study’s aim was to elicit participants' perspectives on the barriers they perceived to women’s contribution to medical research through all phases of the research process, from expressing interest in a particular field to finding faculty support, to performing research activities, to assessing research outcomes. Analytic coding of group interview transcripts revealed three major themes expressed by participants: differing expectations perceived for female students versus male students in conducting research; challenges for female students in securing research opportunities; and practical challenges for female students in conducting research. Findings from this study suggest that there is still work to be done to support female students, empower them to overcome obstacles, and ensure equal participation of female and male students in medical research.

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Interest and perceived barriers toward careers in academic medicine among medical students at Alfaisal University – College of Medicine: A Saudi Arabian perspective

Abstract: AM careers were unpopular by students. Curricular, extracurricular and institutional measures should be implemented to rectify this dilemma.

Cited by 8 publications

References 44 publications

Factors impacting on retention, success and equitable participation in clinical academic careers: a scoping review and meta-thematic synthesis

Factors impacting on retention, success and equitable participation in clinical academic careers: a scoping review and meta-thematic synthesis

Gender, education, and career in the Arab world: A literature review

A Qualitative Study Exploring Female Students’ Perspectives on Medical Research Opportunities in Saudi Arabia

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