Ezegwui C O, Nwaze C E, Magboh V O, Olusoji E B, Lawal T A
Final Year Medical Student, Alexander Brown Hall, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Department of Surgery, University of Ibadan & University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Ann Ib Postgrad Med. 2022 Dec;20(2):108-114.
The choice of specialty by medical students and early career doctors affects health workforce distribution in any country. In addressing healthcare needs of the populace, appropriate distribution of manpower across board is essential. Several factors come into play in making these choices. This study assessed factors affecting the career choices of final year medical students and how curricular changes may have influenced these.
This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 236 final year medical students of the University of Ibadan by convenience sampling using self-administered semi-structured questionnaires. Questions were on sociodemographic characteristics, career counselling, preferred future career, and factors affecting these choices. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 software.
A total of 236 medical students participated in the study. The mean age of participants was 23.6(±1.9) years. Only 112(47.5%) respondents had received any form of career counseling/guidance in the course of their medical training. The commonest first choice specialties were obstetrics and gynecology 54(22.9%), surgery 44(18.6%), and psychiatry 18(7.6%). Personal interest most often (185, 78.4%) influenced career choice overall, showing significance in obstetrics and gynecology (p=0.02), family medicine (p=0.02), and public health (p<0.001).
The predominant choices of future specialty among final year medical students were obstetrics and gynecology, surgery and psychiatry. The change in curriculum for medical students may have affected the pattern of their choices with more interest shown in previously neglected areas.
医学生和刚步入职业生涯的医生对专业的选择会影响任何一个国家的卫生人力分布。在满足民众的医疗保健需求方面，全面合理地分配人力至关重要。做出这些选择时会涉及多个因素。本研究评估了影响医学专业最后一年学生职业选择的因素，以及课程变化可能如何影响了这些选择。
这是一项横断面研究，通过方便抽样，对伊巴丹大学236名医学专业最后一年的学生进行了自我管理的半结构化问卷调查。问题涉及社会人口学特征、职业咨询、未来首选职业以及影响这些选择的因素。使用SPSS 21版软件对数据进行分析。
共有236名医学生参与了该研究。参与者的平均年龄为23.6（±1.9）岁。只有112名（47.5%）受访者在医学培训过程中接受过任何形式的职业咨询/指导。最常见的首选专业是妇产科54名（22.9%）、外科44名（18.6%）和精神病学18名（7.6%）。总体而言，个人兴趣最常（185名，78.4%）影响职业选择，在妇产科（p = 0.02）、家庭医学（p = 0.02）和公共卫生（p < 0.001）方面具有显著性。
医学专业最后一年学生未来专业的主要选择是妇产科、外科和精神病学。医学生课程的变化可能影响了他们的选择模式，对以前被忽视的领域表现出了更多兴趣。
