Specialty choice determinants among Mexican medical students: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: BMC medical education 2019-11, Vol.19 (1), p.420-420, Article 420
• Main Authors: Gutiérrez-Cirlos, Carlos, Naveja, J Jesús, García-Minjares, Manuel, Martínez-González, Adrián, Sánchez-Mendiola, Melchor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Career Choice; Career development; College students; Conferences and conventions; Cross-Sectional Studies; Education, Medical, Graduate; Family medicine; Female; General practitioners; Graduate studies; Humans; Male; Medical personnel training; Medical students; Medicine; Mexico; Middle and junior high school students; México; Obstetrics; Occupations; Professional identity; Residency training; Students; Students, Medical; Surgery; Surveys and Questionnaires; Training; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1472-6920; 1472-6920
• DOI: 10.1186/s12909-019-1830-5

The choice of medical specialty is related to multiple factors, students' values, and specialty perceptions. Research in this area is needed in low- and middle-income countries, where the alignment of specialty training with national healthcare needs has a complex local interdependency. The study aimed to identify factors that influence specialty choice among medical students. Senior students at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) Faculty of Medicine answered a questionnaire covering demographics, personal experiences, vocational features, and other factors related to specialty choice. Chi-square tests and factor analyses were performed. The questionnaire was applied to 714 fifth-year students, and 697 provided complete responses (response rate 81%). The instrument Cronbach's alpha was 0.8. The mean age was 24 ± 1 years; 65% were women. Eighty percent of the students wanted to specialize, and 60% had participated in congresses related to the specialty of interest. Only 5% wanted to remain as general practitioners. The majority (80%) wanted to enter a core specialty: internal medicine (29%), general surgery (24%), pediatrics (11%), gynecology and obstetrics (11%) and family medicine (4%). The relevant variables for specialty choice were grouped in three dimensions: personal values that develop and change during undergraduate training, career needs to be satisfied, and perception of specialty characteristics. Specialty choice of medical students in a middle-income country public university is influenced by the undergraduate experience, the desire to study a subspecialty and other factors (including having skills related to the specialty and type of patients).