Preference of preclinical medical students for medical specialties and the basic medical sciences

A structured questionnaire was administered to 346 medical and dental students who were about to take the Part I MBBS/BDS degree examination. Apart from personal data of each student, the questionnaire sought information on their post-graduation career preferences in ten medical specialties, lectureship in anatomy, physiology or biochemistry, career in the armed forces, politics or business. They were required to give reasons for their choices. The results showed that 89.6% of the students were aged 19 to 24 years and 94.8% were admitted via concessional entry. Forty-one percent of the students preferred surgery, while 15%, 11% and 7.8% chose careers in obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and internal medicine respectively. The specialties of radiology, anaesthesia, psychiatry, pathology, community medicine and general practice were unattractive to most students. Only 1.5% of the students wanted to become lecturers in anatomy and physiology while none wanted to lecture in biochemistry. Choice of career in the armed forces, politics and business was low. Nine students (2.6%) wanted to be pastors/missionary doctors. The main reasons for the choices are personal interest (73.7) and better financial reward 11.8%. Sex had a significant effect on choices. The results were discussed and their implications were highlighted. Suggestions on how to solve the problems identified were made.