Medical Student Career Choice: Who Is the Influencer?

Hao, Kevin A.; Fu, Shengyi; Islam, Saleem; Larson, Shawn D.; Mustafa, Moiz M.; Petroze, Robin T.; Taylor, Janice A.

doi:10.1016/j.jss.2021.11.007

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The study showed a significant decrease in the number of students considering being a general physician as a future career after the surgical clerkship. This finding aligns with the findings of a study conducted by Hao et al, which highlighted the impact of clinical experiences on medical students' specialty choices and the potential influence of surgical rotations on their career decisions (10).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Effect of Surgery Before and After Clerkship on the Attitude of Medical Students Toward Surgery as a Future Career in Saudi Arabia

Mashbari,

Madkhali,

Hamithi

et al. 2024

J Med Edu

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Background: It is becoming harder and harder to persuade talented medical students to choose carers in any of the medical specialties. According to studies, the majority of medical students make their final career decisions while still in college. Various student and institution-related aspects are crucial to the decision on specialization. Gender, age, marital status, prestige influence, surgical mentors, career potential, intellectual challenge, and clerkship experience are among the variables recognized as having a major impact on the decision to choose surgery as a career. Methods: The data were collected through an online self-administered questionnaire. The study is a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. The target population of this study included medical students in the fourth year and above from Saudi Arabia. Results: This study was conducted in Saudi Arabia with 835 participants, of whom 62.4% and 37.6% were female and male, respectively. The majority of respondents (83.2%) fell within the age range of 18 - 25 years. The largest representation of participants came from the western region (29.7%), followed by the southern region (27.4%). Regarding career aspirations, 60.5% were willing to pursue a career in surgery; however, 39.5% expressed a negative inclination. Among medical students, general surgery students showed no significant change in attitudes before and after a surgical clerkship; nevertheless, other specialties remained largely unaffected. Factors influencing the choice of a surgical career included lifestyle concerns, perception of working hours, prestige, manual activity, intellectual challenge, research opportunities, work-life balance, financial considerations, and patient perception. Conclusions: This study indicated that a significant percentage of participants expressed a positive inclination toward pursuing a career in surgery. However, a surgical clerkship did not significantly influence the attitudes of medical students toward general surgery or other specialties. Factors such as lifestyle concerns, working hours, prestige, intellectual challenge, and financial considerations played crucial roles in shaping career choices among medical students.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Effect of Surgery Before and After Clerkship on the Attitude of Medical Students Toward Surgery as a Future Career in Saudi Arabia

Mashbari,

Madkhali,

Hamithi

et al. 2024

J Med Edu

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“…This perception is also validated from a medical student perspective in the literature, and in fact, it seems residents in our study are underestimating the extent of their impact, as upward of 86% of medical students in one study claimed that interactions with residents during their clerkship years was a key influence on their specialty decision 20 . Other studies in this area also uniformly found that medical learners view residents as their teachers more so than attendings and claim that residents have more impact on their specialty choice than attendings 21-23 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

2023

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Introduction:Despite increasing emphasis on the development and implementation of Residents-as-Teachers programs, resident perspectives on their roles as teachers have rarely been explored. This paper explores trends across 7 years of data collected from resident leaders across North American orthopaedic residency programs.Methods:Data were collected during the American Orthopaedic Association's resident-only engagement activity known as the C. McCollister Evarts Resident Leadership Forum (RLF). A total of 997 of 1,050 RLF participants responded from 2015 to 2021.Results:Residents perceived themselves as having a strong influence on medical students’ education more so than any other teacher. However, less than one third are provided with any formal instruction from their institutions to support their teaching, and nearly 3 quarters of participants felt there was room for improvement in their teaching effectiveness. For the most part, resident perspectives have stayed relatively consistent over time.Discussion:Residents are keen and willing to invest time into developing their teaching effectiveness. There may be a need for improved advocacy to program directors to increase the presence and availability of formal Residents-as-Teachers programs to support residents in their roles as teachers. We offer suggestions for the composition of such programs for consideration.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the decision to pursue a speci c medical career is complex and in uenced by a wide range of elements. These include various personal, social, and professional factors such as gender, origin, personal characteristics, and interests including lifestyle and work preferences; the perceived needs of society; and exposure to the medical curriculum encompassing clinical experiences (19)(20)(21).Admission to medical school in Germany is highly competitive owing to the capacity being regulated centrally. The allocation of places to study medicine ab initio is coordinated by the Foundation for University Admission (Stiftung Hochschulstart).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with medical students’ career choice in different specialties: a multiple cross-sectional questionnaire study at a German medical school

Leutritz,

Krauthausen,

Simmenroth

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background: Given the shortage and unequal distribution of physicians across specialties, we aimed to evaluate factors associated with medical students’ career choices, including background, personality traits, educational experience, personal interests, lifestyle considerations, and the awareness of work requirements. Methods: We conducted multiple cross-sectional surveys of students; a 159-item online questionnaire was designed and students from three different stages of the six-year medical degree course (outset, clinical phase, and on graduation) were invited to complete the survey. Data were collected between May 2021 and April 2023. Results: The questionnaire was sent to 1406 students, of whom 683 replied (49%); 481 respondents were female (70%). The top specialty choices across the respondents were internal medicine, surgery, and general practice, with anaesthesiology, paediatric and adolescent medicine (ranging 11-15%), and obstetrics and gynaecology also receiving interest, with 6% undecided. In particular, female students lost interest in surgery during the course of study in favour of the other options. The choice of general practice was associated with more vocational training, prior positive experiences with the specialty, and lower grades in the university entry examination. Clinical clerkships in a specific (freely chosen) specialty aligned with career choice, while the final practical year did not have an impact on career decision-making. All students highly desired regulated working hours and work-life-balance; however, students choosing surgery rated these items as less important. Willingness to work in a hospital environment was highly associated with choosing anaesthesiology and surgery, whereas rural areas and practices were associated with general practice. Higher scores at agreeableness were associated with choosing paediatric and adolescent medicine by more female students, whereas lower neuroticism values were associated with the choice of anaesthesiology. Conclusions: The results highlight the intricate nature of decision-making and shed light on various aspects that contribute to the process of selecting a specialty. By identifying and addressing influencing factors, we can develop targeted interventions and policies to enhance diversity and distribution across medical specialisations and to aim for high-quality and equitable healthcare that matches the specific needs of both individuals and the population as a whole.

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Medical Student Career Choice: Who Is the Influencer?

Cited by 16 publications

References 27 publications

Effect of Surgery Before and After Clerkship on the Attitude of Medical Students Toward Surgery as a Future Career in Saudi Arabia

Effect of Surgery Before and After Clerkship on the Attitude of Medical Students Toward Surgery as a Future Career in Saudi Arabia

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

Factors associated with medical students’ career choice in different specialties: a multiple cross-sectional questionnaire study at a German medical school

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