SynthesisBMJ open2022
Career aspirations of specialty among medical students in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis of data from two decades, 2000-2021.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gendered time use among specializing medical doctors at Makerere University, Uganda: a cross-sectional study.Global health action · 2026Article
- An international medical education collaborative to enhance academic and clinical capacity in South Africa: a six-year review of Discovery-Mass General Fellowship.Journal of global health · 2026Article
- Attitudes of final-year medical students towards psychiatry as a specialisation at a university in South Africa.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2026Article
- Evolution of professional expectations among medical students at a Peruvian university: A six-year longitudinal study.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Specialty preferences among Nigerian medical students: a cross sectional study.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Factors Affecting Specialty Training Preference Among UK Medical Students (FAST): Protocol for a National Cross-Sectional Survey.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Laparoscopic training workshop to assess medical students' skill acquisition and interest in surgical careers.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- 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 · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo determine the distribution of career aspirations for the discipline of specialty among undergraduate medical students in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
designWe searched PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE Google Scholar and Google for studies published between 1 January 2000 and 31 June 2021. Two reviewers extracted data from eligible studies, with disagreements resolved through consensus with a third reviewer. The random effects model was used to pool proportions, presented with the corresponding 95% CI. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochrane's (Q) test but quantified with I
settingSSA.
participantsUndergraduate medical students. OUTCOMES: Primary outcome was pooled proportion of career aspirations for the discipline of medical specialty and the secondary outcome was reasons for the specialty selection.
resultsWe identified 789 citations but meta-analysed 32 studies, with an overall sample size of 8231 participants. The most popular career aspiration for the discipline of specialty was surgery (29.5%; 95% CI 25.0% to 34.2%), followed by internal medicine (17.3%, 95% CI 11.7% to 23.7%), and then obstetrics and gynaecology (15.0%, 95% CI 12.3% to 17.9%), and paediatrics (11.3%; 95% CI 9.6% to 13.2%). The less popular medical disciplines of specialty included public health, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, family medicine, pathology, anaesthesiology, dermatology, otolaryngology, psychiatry and emergency medicine. The reasons for the selection of a medical discipline for specialty related to mentor and peer influences, prospect for economic gains, personal factors, long-term career interests and goals and discipline-specific factors.
conclusionSurgery is the most preferred career aspiration for medical students in SSA, followed by internal medicine. The choices do not necessarily match the disease burden on the continent and medical schools should consider strengthening career counselling and mentoring in their curriculum. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021260501.
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Registered trials
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.