Department of Dermatology, University Teaching Hospital of Lomé. Faculty of health sciences, university of Lome (Togo), Lomé, Togo.
BMC Med Educ. 2021 Dec 14;21(1):615. doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-03063-2.
The choice of specialty in medicine is an important decision for the individual, but also for health system. This choice combined personals reasons, professional desires and needs of the health system. The number of specialists in the country depends of this choice. Very few studies have focused on factors influencing the choice of specialties among medical students in Africa. Also, in the absence of specialist needs planning in Togo. This study, aims to determine the factors influencing the choice of specialty among students at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Lomé (FSS-UL).
This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that took place from June 1 to June 30, 2019 with medical students of the doctoral cycle and doctors in specialization studies in the various Diploma of Special Study (DSS) available at the FSS-UL. Data collection was done at the surveyed's training sites. Pre-established and pre-tested fact sheets were giving and explained to the students by data collection team. Data collection team return at the surveyed's training sites 72 h after to collect pre-established fact sheets. Following variables study including: factors (individual; related to the medical curriculum); the advantages and attractiveness of the specialty that can influence students' choice. Data analysis was carried out using Epi Info 6.0 software. The significance threshold was 5%.
At the time of the survey, the FSS-UL had 147 doctoral students and 211 specialty students. A total of 251 participants responded to the questionnaires. These included 140 doctoral students and 111 specialty students. The choice of specialties requiring night work such as gynecology, surgery was significantly associated with the male sex (p = 0.001). There was significant association between having financial support (p = 0.001), remuneration related to the specialty (p = 0.0001) and the decision to beginning specialty studies immediately completing general medical studies. Interest in lectures (p = 0.003), teacher support as a mentor in the specialty (p = 0.01) and easy accessibility to teachers (p = 0.008) were medical curriculum factors significantly associated with specialty choice. Facility to work in public and private sector was mentioned by 55.3% of respondents who chose gynecology (p = 0.03). Interest in lectures (p = 0.003), was significantly associated with choice of fundamental sciences; and work in international fields was significantly associated with the choice of pediatric and public health (p = 0.0001).
Factors influencing the choice of certain specialty were balance between family and professional life; financial support to studies, the remuneration opportunities related to the specialty, access to university career. Intervention on these factors will allow a balance between the numbers of doctors trained in the different specialties.
医学专业的选择对个人和医疗系统都很重要。这种选择结合了个人原因、专业愿望和医疗系统的需求。一个国家的专家数量取决于这种选择。很少有研究关注非洲医学生选择专业的影响因素。此外，多哥也没有专家需求规划。本研究旨在确定洛美大学健康科学学院（FSS-UL）医学生选择专业的影响因素。
这是一项描述性的横断面研究，于 2019 年 6 月 1 日至 30 日进行，对象为 FSS-UL 各 DSS 在读博士生和专科生。数据收集在调查对象的培训地点进行。数据收集小组向学生发放并解释了预先制定和预先测试的情况说明书。数据收集小组在调查对象培训地点 72 小时后返回收集预先制定的情况说明书。研究的变量包括：个人因素；与医学课程相关的因素；专业的优势和吸引力，这些因素可能会影响学生的选择。数据分析使用 Epi Info 6.0 软件进行。显著性阈值为 5%。
在调查时，FSS-UL 有 147 名博士生和 211 名专科生。共有 251 名参与者回答了问卷。其中包括 140 名博士生和 111 名专科生。选择需要夜间工作的专业，如妇科、外科，与男性性别显著相关（p=0.001）。有财务支持（p=0.001）、与专业相关的薪酬（p=0.0001）和完成普通医学研究后立即开始专科学习的决定之间存在显著关联。对讲座的兴趣（p=0.003）、专业导师的支持（p=0.01）和与教师的便捷联系（p=0.008）是与专业选择显著相关的医学课程因素。选择妇科的 55.3%的受访者提到在公共和私营部门工作的便利（p=0.03）。对讲座的兴趣（p=0.003）与基础科学的选择显著相关；而在国际领域工作与儿科和公共卫生的选择显著相关（p=0.0001）。
影响某些专业选择的因素包括家庭和职业生活之间的平衡；对学习的财务支持、与专业相关的薪酬机会、获得大学职业的机会。对这些因素的干预将使不同专业培训的医生人数达到平衡。
