More Internists, Family Physicians, and Paediatricians and Less Obstetricians/ Gynaecologists: Challenges to the Workforce

Background: Given that a particular specialty choice is also a key factor that determines the distribution of physicians and specialists at primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare centres, it is important to study students' preferences for specialties and the factors that influence their choices to identify gaps in medical workforce placement. This study aims to examine the specialty choice of medical students and interns and the factors that influenced their preferences. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed between December 2013 and March 2014 on medical students and interns at King Abdulaziz University Hospital. A self- administered questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and information regarding specialty choice as well as factors that influenced student decision-making. Chi-square tests were performed to examine the relationship between categorical variables. Results: Of the 301 respondents, 257 (85.4%) knew what specialty they planned to pursue. The most common specialty choices were medicine (n=34; 13.2%), family medicine (n=29; 11.3%) and paediatrics (n=27; 10.5%). A higher proportion of females selected paediatrics, family medicine, medicine, and cardiology as compared to their male peers who indicated an interest in orthopaedics, neurology, and surgery. Interns were more likely than sixth year medical students to select a specialty because of their inclinations before medical school (p=0.01); male students were more likely to select a specialty for future financial expectations (p=0.002) as well as promotion and career prospects (p=0.04). Conclusion: Students and interns expressed interest in paediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine, and surgery. Financial expectations, promotion, career prospects, and inclinations developed prior to joining the medical school influence their choices. (Rahila Iftikhar, Bahaa Aba Alkhail, Yousef Bahaa Aba Alkhail, and Majid Bahaa Aba Alkhail More Internists, Family Physicians, and Paediatricians and Less Obstetricians/ Gynaecologists: Challenges to