Career decision making in undergraduate medical education

Abstract

Background: It is unclear how medical students prioritize different factors when selecting a specialty. With rising under and unemployment rates a novel approach to career counselling is becoming increasingly important. A better understanding of specialty selection could lead to improved career satisfaction amongst graduates while also meeting the health care needs of Canadians. 
 Methods: Medical students from the University of Toronto participated in a two-phase study looking at factors impacting specialty selection. Phase I consisted of focus groups, conducted independently for each year, and Phase II was a 21-question electronic survey sent to all students. 
 Results: Twenty-one students participated in the focus group phase and 95 in the survey phase. Primary themes related to career selection identified in Phase I in order of frequency included personal life factors (36), professional life factors (36), passion/interest (20), changing interests (19) and hidden curriculum (15). The survey phase had similar results with passion (83), lifestyle (79), flexibility (75), employment opportunities (60) and family (50) being ranked as the factors most important in specialty selection.
 Conclusion: Personal factors, professional factors and passion/interest may be key themes for medical students when deciding which specialty to pursue. Targeting career counselling around these areas may be important.

Burnout and Online Medical Education: Romanian Students in Lockdown and Their Residency Choices

“…As for the age and burnout prevalence in medical students, studies suggest that although matriculants start with a better mental health status compared to their same-age university student peers, the burnout and depression prevalence is higher in medical students than in college graduates pursuing different careers [40][41][42][43]. As the literature suggests, medical students experience higher levels of mental distress than their age-matched peers and the general population [33].…”

“…A longitudinal study from 2006-2007 argues that burnout in medical students predicts the intention of dropping out of school [50], whereas a different cross-sectional study suggests that medical students are more prone in choosing a less demanding specialty to engage in a more manageable lifestyle as future healthcare practitioners [51]. While it remains unclear how students choose their specialty, as a Canadian study suggests [41], personal and professional factors may be the key to choosing a specialty, which leads to a more satisfying career and better care for their patients, as burnout correlates with lower levels of empathy, disengagement and career regret [42]. However, addressing burnout at all stages of medical training, either in medical school or residency is of critical importance for the quality of healthcare and the students' and residents' wellbeing [22,42,[52][53][54].…”

Analyzing the influence of COVID-19 epidemic on the employment intention of resident physicians in China

“…Personal considerations, professional aspects, and passions/interests may be critical topics for medical students when choosing which program to seek. Career counseling focused on these aspects may be important [7]. The departments of infectious diseases, respiratory medicine, and critical care were not "ideal" choices for medical graduates.…”

A Systematic Career Advising Model and Strategies for Medical Students

“…미치는 행위이며 [1], 개인의 욕구 충족과 직업만족도에 중요하다 [2,3]. 의사가 특정 의학 전문분야 또는 지역에 편중될 때는 국가 사회적 측면에서 의료 인력의 고용 및 수급에 어려움이 발생하기 때문에 [4,5] 의대생의 졸업 후 진로선택은 지역사회 및 국민의 의료 요구 충족을 위해서도 중요하다 [2,6].…”