Abstract
Introduction: There is significant shortage of Saudi physicians in several specialties. The process of choosing future specialty is poorly understood. This study aims to identify the factors that influence medical interns to choose their future specialty.
Methodology: This study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. In September 2018, medical interns at Qassim University in Saudi Arabia were asked to fill out an on-line-questionnaire. On 24 items with 5-points Likert scale, the interns rated the importance of specified occupational and individual aspects. Moreover, interns were asked to specify their intended specialty. Analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Science SPSS version 24. Chi-squared test and logistic regression were used to test the association between deciding a future specialty and interns' socio-demographic factors.
Result: 75 interns participated in the survey. Majority of the interns chose good treatment outcome as their most influential factor for choosing their future career, while gender distribution in the specialty was the weakest factor. Pediatrics and general surgery were the most preferred specialties followed by internal medicine. The least preferred specialties were anesthesiology, community medicine, urology, ICU, cardiac and pediatric surgery. There were no gender differences found.
Conclusion: Many factors appeared to inspire medical students and interns to choose a future specialty. Administrative efforts may also play a major role in steering medical students toward certain specialties to meet the workforce demand. Thus, we recommend to establish a formal career counseling to guide students choose their medical specialty and cultivate their interest.