ArticleSaudi journal of biological sciences2018
Mapping the factors that influence the career specialty preferences by the undergraduate medical students.
Article in Saudi journal of biological sciences, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Specialty preferences and influencing factors among undergraduate medical students in Ain Shams University.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Observational
- A cross-sectional investigation of trend in career specialty preference among clinical year medical undergraduates, including factors influencing preferences and discouragement.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Factors Affecting Specialty Training Preference Among UK Medical Students (FAST): Protocol for a National Cross-Sectional Survey.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Factors that influence medical students' decision to pursue a career in orthopaedics: a comprehensive analysis.International orthopaedics · 2024Article
- The magnitude of influence of personal and professional factors on the career choices of medical students.Journal of medicine and life · 2024Article
- Development, implementation, and evaluation of an undergraduate family medicine program in the United Arab Emirates.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- Medical students' career preferences in Bangladesh.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- Factors affecting the scientific research ability and the corresponding countermeasures in clinical postgraduates.BMC medical education · 2023Article
- Determining Factors Influencing Specialty Preferences of Iranian Medical Doctors: A Qualitative Study.Iranian journal of medical sciences · 2022Article
- Students' motivation in choosing general practice for their career pathway: a middle-income country report, Indonesia.International journal of medical education · 2022Review
- Is student mentoring career-defining in surgical disciplines? A comparative survey among medical schools and medical students for mentoring programs.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
- Medical Students' Perception Towards Choosing Pathology Program at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia.Advances in medical education and practice · 2022Article
- Factors and Determinants of Choosing Pathology as a Future Career: Results From a Multi-Institution Study.Cureus · 2021Article
- A thematic network for factors affecting the choice of specialty education by medical students: a scoping study in low-and middle-income countries.BMC medical education · 2021Article
- Impact of the Perceived Mental Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Students' Loneliness Feelings and Future Career Choice: A Preliminary Survey Study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- A National Survey on the characteristics of Iranian General Practitioners and Their Preferred Specialty: A Need to Transition toward Preventive Medicine.International journal of preventive medicine · 2021Article
- American Society of Clinical Oncology-Sponsored Oncology Student Interest Groups in Latin America.JCO global oncology · 2020Article
- Gender differences in specialty preference among medical Students at Aleppo University: a cross-sectional study.BMC medical education · 2020Article
- Association between HEXACO personality traits and medical specialty preferences in Mexican medical students: a cross-sectional survey.BMC psychology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
It is often perceived that undergraduate medical students do not select their career specialty until they are graduated. This study aimed to probe the preferences of undergraduate medical students about their career specialty and the factors influencing their choices. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 3rd through 5th year undergraduate medical students to record their choices of specialties and to identify the factors that influence their career selection. Out of 220 respondents, 29 (13.2%) students selected General Surgery, 24 (10.9%) Pediatrics, and 18 (8.2%) Internal Medicine as their career specialties; whereas 24 (10.9%) students were not able to select a major specialty. The least popular specialties were Gynecology and Obstetrics, Oncology, Histopathology, Orthopedics, Genetics, Psychology, each selected by one student. One hundred and seventeen (53.1%) thought their selected specialty 'matched their capabilities' and 82 (37.2%) perceived their selection as "innovative field in medicine". Career advice by friends and families and the desire to serve academic institutions could not influence career selection. Career preferences by medical students result from the interplay of a range of factors. General Surgery, Pediatrics and Internal Medicine were the most preferred specialties. The professional grooming programs to target specialties matching the trainees' capabilities and the specialties with state-of-the-art innovative technologies attract medical undergraduate students. The attained knowledge is vitally important for the policy makers in modifying the existing framework that can cater the popular and favored specialties.
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