6th year medical students' future specialty preferences: A cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Services Research
• Career Development

Background:

• Understanding medical student career preferences is crucial for improving health service systems.
• Specialty choice influences the distribution of practitioners and requires targeted interventions.
• This study addresses the need to understand factors affecting postgraduate medical education choices in Jordan.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine Jordanian medical students' preferred specialty choices.
• To identify factors influencing their specialty selection.
• To assess attitudes towards postgraduate medical education both domestically and internationally.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed.
• Data was collected from 6th-year medical students in Jordan using an online questionnaire.
• Statistical analysis included frequency distributions and Chi-square tests with an alpha level of 0.05.

Main Results:

• A significant majority (74.3%) preferred postgraduate training abroad over Jordan (25.7%).
• Medical (non-surgical) specialties were favored by 59.3% of respondents.
• Key factors influencing specialty choice were job opportunities (32.5%), training duration, and expected income (27.7% each).

Conclusions:

• Interventions are needed to encourage medical graduates to pursue in-demand specialties.
• Local postgraduate medical training programs require re-evaluation to enhance learning experiences and outcomes.