Medical specialty considerations by medical students early in their clinical experience

Abstract

Background Specialty selection by medical students determines the future composition of the physician workforce. Selection of career specialties begins in earnest during the clinical rotations with exposure to the clinical and intellectual environments of various specialties. Career specialty selection is followed by choosing a residency program. This is the period where insight into the decision process might help healthcare leaders ascertain whether, when, and how to intervene and attempt to influence students' decisions. The criteria students consider important in selecting a specialty and a residency program during the early phases of their clinical rotations were examined. Methods Questionnaires distributed to fifth-year medical students at two Israeli medical schools. Results 229 of 275 (83%) questionnaires were returned. 80% of the students had considered specialties; 62% considered one specialty, 25% two, the remainder 3-5 specialties. Students took a long-range view; 55% considered working conditions after residency more important than those during residency, another 42% considered both equally important. More than two-thirds wanted an interesting and challenging bedside specialty affording control over lifestyle and providing a reasonable relationship between salary and lifestyle. Men were more interested in well-remunerated procedure-oriented specialties that allowed for private practice. Most students rated as important selecting a challenging and interesting residency program characterized by good relationships between staff members, with positive treatment by the institution, and that provided much teaching. More women wanted short residencies with few on-calls and limited hours. More men rated as important residencies affording much responsibility for making clinical decisions and providing research opportunities. More than 50% of the students considered it important that their residency be in a leading department, and in a large university medical center. Only 5% considered it important to do their residency in the country's peripheral areas, while 30% reported interest in a residency in the country's center. Conclusions The fifth year of a six-year medical school is an opportune time to provide students with information and guidance on the various specialties and selecting a residency program as they begin to solidify their perceptions and ideas about the various specialties. This study serves as an impetus to medical educators and healthcare leaders to become interested in students' career selection.

Specialty preferences among final year medical students in medical schools of southeast Nigeria: need for career guidance

“…In Gambia, all the medical students that participated in a study expressed interest in having career counselling during the period of their training [39], and from a similar study in Israel came the call for greater interest in the career selection of medical students [42]. The same study also earmarked the fifth year in medical school as the appropriate time for guidance to medical students on choice of specialty [42]. This was also highlighted in our study as more than half of the students (51.8 %) made their choice of specialty for specialization at that stage of their clinical training.…”

Factors influencing medical students′ choice of future specialization in medical sciences: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey from medical schools in china, malaysia and regions of south asian association for regional cooperation

“…[13] Another study that reported from India,[12] observed male medical students choosing internal medicine and surgery as their specialization, compared to females choosing OBG and pediatrics. Earlier study conducted by Subba et al .…”

Factors affecting the specialty choice of medical students at king Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

“…However, the real process to determine the career of life begins during clinical rotations when students are exposed to both clinical and intellectual environments of various specialties. 1 In the Ministry of Health, the proportion of Saudi doctors who are working in health centers is (5.8%) which is lower than those in hospitals (16.9%). 2 According to the Ministry of Health, the numbers of medical schools in Saudi Arabia in the year of 2011 have been increased to 16 governmental medical schools, and five private ones.…”