Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29548290›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2018

Specialty preference and intentions to study abroad of Syrian medical students during the crisis.

Bisher Sawaf, Fatima Abbas, Amr Idris, Tareq Al Saadi, Nazir Ibrahim

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Article in BMC medical education, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  11. Specialties preference by gender among medical students at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, South Africa.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Bisher SawafFaculty of Medicine, Syrian Private University, Mazzeh Street, P.O. Box 36822, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic. bishersawaf.94@gmail.com.
Fatima AbbasFaculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
Amr IdrisFaculty of Medicine, Syrian Private University, Mazzeh Street, P.O. Box 36822, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic.
Tareq Al SaadiFaculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
Nazir IbrahimFaculty of Medicine, Syrian Private University, Mazzeh Street, P.O. Box 36822, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLittle research addresses how medical students develop their choice of specialty training in crisis and resource-poor settings. The newly graduated medical students determine the future of the healthcare system. This study aims to elucidate the factors influencing Syrian medical students' specialty selection and students' intentions to study abroad.

methodsA cross-sectional study carried out at the universities of Damascus, Al-Kalamoon and the Syrian Private University in Syria using self-administered questionnaire to investigate medical students' specialty preferences and plans for career future. The questionnaire included questions about students' demographic and educational characteristics, intention to train abroad, the chosen country for training.

resultsRandomly selected 450 students completed the questionnaire. The two most common specialties selected were general surgery (27.6%) and internal medicine (23.5%). The most influencing factors on their decision were 'flexibility of specialty' (74.8%) and 'Better work opportunities after specializing' (69.1%). Most participants stated that they are interested in specializing abroad outside Syria (78.7%). The two most common countries of choice were Germany (35.5%) and the United States of America (24.6%). Acquiring a visa to the foreign country was the most common obstacle of specializing abroad (n = 186, 53.6%). Male gender, having a previous clinical training abroad, and having friends or relatives living abroad were significant factors in predicting students' interest in specializing abroad.

conclusionInternal medicine and surgery are the most reported specialties of choice in this study and most of the participants reported intentions to study abroad. Their specialty preferences are influenced by both familiar epidemiological and war-driven factors. These data can be useful to design further cohort study to understand the war-related affecting factors on students' plans for their career in the effort of improving the balance of healthcare system in Syria.

Indexed as

Career ChoiceIntentionSpecializationStudents, MedicalCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGeneral SurgeryGermanyHumansInternal MedicineMaleSchools, MedicalSex FactorsSurveys and QuestionnairesSyriaCrisisPostgraduate trainingSpecialty preferencesSyriaUndergraduate medical educationWar

Identifiers

PMID29548290
PMCPMC5857144

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.