Predictors of Considering a Vascular Surgery Career Among Medical Students at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia: A...

Vascular surgery faces a sustained workforce shortage worldwide, with persistent gender disparities in the international pipeline. This study characterized medical students' knowledge and perceptions of vascular surgery at Jazan University and identified factors independently associated with having considered a vascular surgery career.

A cross-sectional study used a 34-item questionnaire among fourth- to sixth-year medical students. Bivariate analyses used Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests, and the primary outcome was modeled with multivariable binary logistic regression on pre-specified predictors.

Of 213 respondents (54.9% male; mean age 22.9 ± 1.4 years), 43 (20.2%) had considered a vascular surgery career. In the adjusted model, male gender was the strongest independent predictor of the outcome (aOR 4.55; 95% CI 1.84-11.24; p = 0.001), and greater importance attached to training length was associated with lower odds (aOR 0.63; 95% CI 0.42-0.96; p = 0.030). Female students scored lower than male students on the Perceptions of Vascular Surgeons composite (3.06 ± 0.54 vs. 3.25 ± 0.42; p < 0.001). Lifestyle as an attending was the highest-rated specialty-selection factor (4.27 ± 1.07), yet only 11.3% agreed that vascular surgeons have a good work-life balance and only 21.6% agreed the career offers adequate family time. Self-rated knowledge was low (2.86 ± 0.88) but rose with educational stage (p < 0.001).

Male gender was the strongest independent predictor of having considered a vascular surgery career, with over four-and-a-half times the odds of female students. Self-rated knowledge was low despite structured teaching, and perceptions of work-life balance were negative, mirroring international findings. Strengthening the depth and clinical immersion of existing vascular surgery teaching, establishing a vascular surgery interest group, and providing female-oriented mentorship are evidence-based next steps for the Saudi vascular surgery community.