Research involvement, specialty choice, and emigration preferences of final year medical students in croatia

To explore involvement in scientific research, choice of specialty, and readiness to emigrate among graduating medical students in Croatia.

A total of 312 out of 408 (76%) final year medical students of all Croatian Medical Schools (Zagreb, Rijeka, Osijek, and Split) graduating in 2004 answered a questionnaire designed for this study, including questions on scientific involvement, desired specialty, and emigration preferences.

During undergraduate study, 71 (23%) students have been involved in scientific projects. However, only 27 of them (38%) succeeded in publishing their results. Students identified poor project management as the most common reason for publication failure. Specialty choice varied among the four medical schools in Croatia but internal medicine, pediatrics, and surgery were usually highly preferred in all schools. If they failed to get the desired specialty, 104 (33%) students would consider emigration.

There is a clear need for improvement in the management of students' research projects in Croatia, enabling enthusiastic medical students to publish the results of their work and retain their interest in science. The analysis of change of the desired specialties throughout the undergraduate study suggests an increased interest in the "controllable lifestyle" specialties. Failure to get the desired specialty would result in emigration for many students.