Search

Objective: To explore the different specialty career choices of undergraduate medical students and to identify the factors influencing their career choices. Study Design: A descriptive cross-sectional survey. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in Islamic International Medical College in April 2013. Materials and Methods: Final year students were selected through convenience sampling for this study.A 20 items questionnaire with one open ended and 19 Likert scale based close- ended questions was handed to 100 final year MBBS students, in order to explore their preferred career choices and reasons behind them. Non parametric data analysis was done through SPSS 20. Results: Response rate of students was 82% of which 49 (60%) were female and 33 (40%) were male. Medicine, surgery and gynecology were the top career choices among students. Family practice was the least chosen specialty. The top 3 reasons to choose a specialty were natural aptitude, better subject comprehension and work enjoyment. Parents in the same field, easy career progression and specialty related illness in the family were the least chosen reasons. Conclusion: Choice of specialty career in health professions has an impact on the healthcare needs of the country. 'Family practice' is a forgotten domain and its importance needs to be stressed. Medical curricula should emphasize on the importance of family practice as a career choice.