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The reported experiences of undergraduate dental therapy students involved in community-based clinical training suggest that students gained awareness of the context-specific challenges facing communities and health professionals in different oral health settings.

This study qualitatively explored the role of gender and related factors that influence medical doctors’ decisions in selecting a specialisation within medical laboratory medicine. This study is novel in that it disaggregates doctors by specialisation. It further focuses on non-clinical medical specialists who have been ignored in the global human resources for health literature. Hakim’s preference theory as well as socialisation theory is adapted to explain some of the reasons female doctors make certain career choices regarding specialisation within the medical field. The study focused on laboratory doctors in the public and private sector in KwaZulu- Natal. A qualitative approach was adopted given the small population size and the need for an interpretive approach to the data. The research design was an exploratory case study and thematic analysis was used to discover the relevant themes. The non-probability purposeful sample comprised a total of 20 participants, of which 11 were anatomical pathologists and 9 were haematologists, all based in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Data collection was performed via in-depth interviews. Trustworthiness of the data was ensured through methods of credibility and triangulation. The key finding is that although gender is a significant factor in career choice (for specific disciplines), it is one of many factors that determine self-selection into a specific medical laboratory specialisation. The conclusions, although not generalisable, have implications for human resources for health policies targeted at achieving higher levels of recruitment in laboratory medicine as a profession.

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BackgroundThe mobility of health care professionals from the public to private sector is prevalent in South Africa. However, literature on sector switching of clinical doctors remains limited. It is against this background that this study aims to make the labour market visible for histopathologists and identify the reasons for sector switching.MethodsThis study is exploratory and descriptive. It uses qualitative methods, such as in-depth interviews, with 70% (n = 16/23) of the population of histopathologists in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Lee’s (1966) push-pull theory is adapted to explain the pull sector switching behaviours of histopathologists. Interviews were recorded and independently transcribed. The narratives of the participants were coded to reflect the main themes that contributed to their sector switching behaviours.ResultsFive key themes emerged as reasons for the mobility of histopathologists from the public to private sector in KwaZulu-Natal. The findings indicate that remuneration, working conditions, work flexibility, career pathing and autonomy of labour processes are the key drivers of this mobility.ConclusionsHistopathologists provide a core function in the health care chain. However, their invisibility in academic discourse in both public health and human resources for health indicates the paucity of research undertaken on the importance of these specialists in the health care chain. This is especially significant in developing countries like South Africa, where there is a dearth of these specialists. This study, while exploratory, aims to open a dialogue to better understand their reasons for sector switching and, hopefully, inform policies on training, recruitment and retention of these specialists.