Factors Influencing Saudi Medical Student's Decision Towards Cardiothoracic Surgery as a Future Career, a Cross Sectional Study

Introduction: There has been a progressive decline in students' interest to consider cardiothoracic surgery as future career in the distant regions in the world. There are many factors could explain declining interest in cardiothoracic surgery including diminished caseloads due to the expansive growth of interventional cardiology; length of training programs that influences medical student's perception. King Abdulaziz University student's interest to join the speciality explored in our study. We determined some factors that influence their decision making toward their cardiothoracic career. Aim: We aimed to estimate the current interests of medical students at King Abdulaziz University to pursue a career in Cardiothoracic surgery and to determine the factors that positively or negatively affect their decision. Material and Methods: A self-administered online survey designed on Google form was distributed through email to fourth, fifth, and sixth-year medical students. Five domains; demographics, current career intentions, previous exposure to surgery, experiences and perceptions of cardiothoracic surgery were covered in the questionnaire to identify factors affecting student decision to choose cardiothoracic surgery as a future career. Results: Among 486 students at our institution, 179 (36, 83%) medical students completed the questionnaire more than half of them 91 (50.8%) were males. The percentage of students who considered cardiothoracic surgery as a future career was (4.5%); when asked if they were serious in pursuing a career in cardiothoracic surgery, (14.5%) of the student were affirmative. Of those participated in the survey, Twenty-four students believed they had adequate introduction to the cardiothoracic surgery during their undergraduate program. Conclusion: cardiothoracic surgery is falling away behind other specialties as career of choice for many future physicians. It is believed mainly related to inadequate introduction to the field. Increasing exposure and close mentorship is needed to attract more students to pursue a career in cardiothoracic surgery.