Career choices of medical students: a national survey of 1780 students

Medical Education 2010: 44: 603–612 Objectives  Many factors influence the career specialty decisions made by medical students. The aim of this study was to broaden consideration of the determinants of specialty choice in a large population of medical students in their sixth year of study. Methods ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical education 2010-06, Vol.44 (6), p.603-612
Main Authors: Lefevre, Jérémie H, Roupret, Morgan, Kerneis, Solen, Karila, Laurent
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Attitude of Health Personnel
Biological and medical sciences
Career Choice
Education, Medical - statistics & numerical data
Female
France
Health participants
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Medicine
Miscellaneous
Motivation
Physician-Patient Relations
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Sex Factors
Students, Medical - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
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Summary:Medical Education 2010: 44: 603–612 Objectives  Many factors influence the career specialty decisions made by medical students. The aim of this study was to broaden consideration of the determinants of specialty choice in a large population of medical students in their sixth year of study. Methods  A total of 2588 students distributed across all of the 39 medical schools in France participated in a National Practice Examination in December 2008, after which an electronic questionnaire was administered. Study criteria were: population characteristics; demographics, and motivation for and drawbacks to medical specialty choice. Results  A total of 1780 students (1111 women, 62%) responded to the questionnaire (69% response rate). The mean age of respondents was 23.8 years (22–35 years). Of these, 1555 students (87%) stated their preferred medical specialty. Surgical and medical specialties were the two specialties selected most frequently by students (n = 729, 47%). General practice was chosen by 20%. Gender influenced the choice of specialty: 88% of future paediatricians, 82% of gynaecologists and 77% of general practitioners (GPs) were women (p 
ISSN:0308-0110
1365-2923
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2010.03707.x