Understanding patterns of career choices in medicine is important for educators and policy-makers to plan the supply of specialists. This study analysed the career choices made by medical students and house officers in 2 private and 2 public medical schools in Karachi, Pakistan. An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was completed by 850 students. Internal medicine, paediatrics, general surgery and obstetrics and gynaecology were the 4 highest ranked specialties, with internal medicine ranked top as both the 1st and 2nd choice. Internal medicine was the 1st choice for significantly more students in public than private medical colleges (22.2% versus 14.9%). Students from private medical institutions chose a wider range of specialties than those from publicly-funded colleges. A high proportion of medical students and graduates in Karachi favour the same medical specialties, which may lead to saturation in those areas of specialization.

The objectives of this study were to determine the characteristics of medical students and graduates interested in choosing psychiatry as a career and the obstacles in choosing this field of medicine. Two private and two public medical institutes were surveyed from June 2007 to August 2007. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to third, fourth and final year students and to medical graduates doing their internship in these four medical institutes.A total of 909 medical students and graduates participated in the study. Seventeen percent of participants responded positively regarding their interest in psychiatry as a career. Significantly higher proportion belonged to private medical institutes (14% vs. 24%, P-value =0.001). There was no significant difference in reporting interest for psychiatry in regard to age, sex, year in medical school and whether or not the participant had done a psychiatry ward rotation. However significantly higher proportion of participants (22%, n=43) were reporting their interest in the field of psychiatry who had done more than a month long psychiatry ward rotation as compared to those participants (14%, n=54) with less than a month or no psychiatry rotation (P-value=0.01). More students were reporting their interest in psychiatry with a family history of psychiatric illness as compared to without family history (24% vs 16%, P-value=0.03). In conclusion, students and graduates with more than a month long rotation in psychiatry, studying in private medical colleges and with a family history of psychiatric illness were more interested in choosing psychiatry as a career.

Background: Despite the availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV is still responsible for substantial illness and death, especially in developing countries. Early start of treatment (ART) is associated with better therapeutic outcome, reduced transmissibility of HIV, reduction in loss to follow-up, and remarkably reduced death rate. Objectives: To find out the factors associated with early and late Initiation of ART among patients affected by HIV in Lahore, Pakistan Methods: From November 2017 to April 2018, researchers conducted an analytical cross-sectional study on 156 HIV patients aged 18 and older that began antiretroviral therapy (ART) at Jinnah & Mayo Hospital, Lahore's HIV clinics. Samples were selected by non-probability convenience sampling and Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess factors related to early and late Initiation of ART. The p-value of less than

Background and objective The predialysis education program (PDEP) is an integral part of the management of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the distribution of renal replacement therapy (RRT) among patients with ESRD who received PDEP counseling at a single tertiary care center in Khamis Mushait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methodology In this study, we included 177 patients with ESRD who received a series of structured PDEP counseling sessions between March 2018 and February 2019 at the Armed Forces Hospital, Southern Region, Khamis Mushait, KSA. All patients were offered available RRT options, which included hemodialysis (HD), continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), or renal transplantation. Patients' opted RRT modality was recorded and managed as per the international guidelines and institutional protocols. Results Out of 177 patients, 58.8% (104) were males, with a mean age of 59 ± 13.7 years. The most common comorbid condition as the primary diagnosis was diabetic nephropathy in 49.7% (88), followed by hypertension in 30.5% (54), bilateral small kidney in 15.3% (27), and renal stone in 5.1% (nine) of the patients. Among the available RRTs, 51.4% (91) chose HD, 5.1% (nine) decided on CAPD, four patients (2.3%) opted for renal transplantation, while the remaining 41.2% (73) had yet to choose one, out of which 83.6% (61/73) had stage-IV chronic kidney disease (CKD) while the remaining 16.4% (12/73) had stage-V CKD. Conclusions In conclusion, a series of structured PDEP sessions for the patients progressing to ESRD can facilitate their selection of RRT. In a resource-limited setting, such as ours, where the number of patients who seek treatment for ESRD is rising, PDEP can provide patients with adequate information and knowledge to equip them with the ability regarding the selection of a self-care RRT modality.