Medical Specialty Choice and Effective Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Last-Year Medical Students
Background: Choosing a medical specialty is an important choice for medical students and the healthcare system.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the interest of last-year medical students in choosing a future medical specialty and determine effective factors in it.Methods: A descriptive cr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Kerman University of Medical Sciences
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Strides in Development of Medical Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://sdme.kmu.ac.ir/article_92316_d26ada3795fc9e4446d0efd61cf58acd.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797628916408516608 |
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| author | Ghazal Mansouri Zeinab Sadat Rooholamini Fatemeh Karami Robati |
| author_facet | Ghazal Mansouri Zeinab Sadat Rooholamini Fatemeh Karami Robati |
| author_sort | Ghazal Mansouri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Choosing a medical specialty is an important choice for medical students and the healthcare system.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the interest of last-year medical students in choosing a future medical specialty and determine effective factors in it.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 201 medical students was performed in Iran in 2019. All medical students who completed the internship period by the end of September 2020 were selected by census method. A questionnaire was applied, the validity and reliability of which had already been registered in the Statistics Center of Afzalipour Hospital, Kerman, Iran. Data analysis was performed using descriptive methods, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, and SPSS software (version 20). A significance level of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: About 98% of students intended to choose a future medical specialty. The highest number of interested students were female (66%) and single (83.2%), with a mean age of 26.69 ± 12.22 years. The parents’ educational level of most students interested in continuing education was a bachelor’s degree or lower (52.3%). “Achieving a better economic position” (91.4%) was the most important factor for choosing a specialty. Most participants were interested in ophthalmology (18.2%). The factors “specific working hours” and “easy residency period” were indicated most frequently as effects on the preference for ophthalmology.Conclusion: The present findings provide significant insight into creating strategies to attract a number of medical students in other specialties based on the needs of the Iranian healthcare system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:45:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-60d26ef2c9ae47edbdc50bd21b1adb7a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2645-3525 2645-3452 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:45:57Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Kerman University of Medical Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Strides in Development of Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-60d26ef2c9ae47edbdc50bd21b1adb7a2023-11-14T05:10:14ZengKerman University of Medical SciencesStrides in Development of Medical Education2645-35252645-34522023-02-0120117317810.22062/sdme.2023.198300.116592316Medical Specialty Choice and Effective Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Last-Year Medical StudentsGhazal Mansouri0Zeinab Sadat Rooholamini1Fatemeh Karami Robati2Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Afzalipour Hospital, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranMD, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranMSc. in Medical Library and Information Sciences, Clinical Research Development Unit, Afzalipour Hospital, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranBackground: Choosing a medical specialty is an important choice for medical students and the healthcare system.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the interest of last-year medical students in choosing a future medical specialty and determine effective factors in it.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 201 medical students was performed in Iran in 2019. All medical students who completed the internship period by the end of September 2020 were selected by census method. A questionnaire was applied, the validity and reliability of which had already been registered in the Statistics Center of Afzalipour Hospital, Kerman, Iran. Data analysis was performed using descriptive methods, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, and SPSS software (version 20). A significance level of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: About 98% of students intended to choose a future medical specialty. The highest number of interested students were female (66%) and single (83.2%), with a mean age of 26.69 ± 12.22 years. The parents’ educational level of most students interested in continuing education was a bachelor’s degree or lower (52.3%). “Achieving a better economic position” (91.4%) was the most important factor for choosing a specialty. Most participants were interested in ophthalmology (18.2%). The factors “specific working hours” and “easy residency period” were indicated most frequently as effects on the preference for ophthalmology.Conclusion: The present findings provide significant insight into creating strategies to attract a number of medical students in other specialties based on the needs of the Iranian healthcare system.https://sdme.kmu.ac.ir/article_92316_d26ada3795fc9e4446d0efd61cf58acd.pdfeducationmedicalgraduatemedicinestudentsiran |
| spellingShingle | Ghazal Mansouri Zeinab Sadat Rooholamini Fatemeh Karami Robati Medical Specialty Choice and Effective Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Last-Year Medical Students Strides in Development of Medical Education education medical graduate medicine students iran |
| title | Medical Specialty Choice and Effective Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Last-Year Medical Students |
| title_full | Medical Specialty Choice and Effective Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Last-Year Medical Students |
| title_fullStr | Medical Specialty Choice and Effective Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Last-Year Medical Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medical Specialty Choice and Effective Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Last-Year Medical Students |
| title_short | Medical Specialty Choice and Effective Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Last-Year Medical Students |
| title_sort | medical specialty choice and effective factors a cross sectional survey of last year medical students |
| topic | education medical graduate medicine students iran |
| url | https://sdme.kmu.ac.ir/article_92316_d26ada3795fc9e4446d0efd61cf58acd.pdf |
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