Career preferences of medical students who joined Grant Medical College, Bombay in 1957 and 1982.

BACKGROUND

Scant data are available on the career paths of Indian medical students. I wished to determine the career destinations of students who joined Grant Medical College, Bombay in 1982 and 1957, at 25 and 50 years, respectively, after having joined the medical school.

METHODS

Questionnaire, telephone interview, e-mail response and personal interview were used to collect the data. I also collected emigration data for the students of the 1982 batch and sought to learn whether they were happy with their choice of career.

RESULTS

Forty-nine of 156 students of the 1982 batch and 49 of 84 students of the 1957 batch were abroad, at the 25- and 50-year stage, respectively. Most students (125 of 129) from the 1982 batch had no regrets about their choice of career. Most of those in India (94 of 106) worked entirely in the private health sector. Only 1 student from each batch was in basic research.

CONCLUSION

At least one-fourth of students from the batch of 1982 and over half the students from the batch of 1957 were abroad. Over 90% of those in India were in the private health sector and were happy with their choice of career.