Comparison of Medical Students Consideration for Choosing a Specialty in
2010 and 2020
Abstract
Introduction: Understanding ” what is most
important” to medical-students can help improve residence learning and
working conditions. Such information is needed to facilitate policy
planning that will encourage the next generation of physicians to
specialize in medical-fields that are experiencing shortages. The
hypothesis was, there are significant changes in medical students’
preferences, regarding the considerations for choosing a medical
specialty in 2020 as compared to students a decade earlier.
Methods: A time comparison cross-sectional study of 5
th-year medical students from two universities took
place in 2010 and 2020. A questionnaire was used to examine various
aspects of the specialty selection process. Results
: 335 medical-students answered the survey (237 and 98 in 2010
and 2020, respectively). Medical students in 2020 in comparison to 2010,
were 2.26 time less likely to choose a residency because of its
potential for a high income (P<0.05), had significantly more
interest in residencies with greater teaching (98.8% vs 82.9%,
P<0.05) and increased responsibility/chance to make clinical
decisions on their own (67.9% vs 51.6%, P<0.05). There were
criteria which were important to both the 2010 and 2020 students, such
as, choosing a bedside specialty (70.2%vs 67.9%, NS), an interesting
and challenging residency (95.2%v s 91.3%, NS) and interest in a
specialty that involved working in the operating room (29.8% vs 32.6%,
NS). Conclusions: These results reinforce the idea of
avoiding stereotypes based on the generational cohort and the importance
of exploring the needs and motivations of medical students. Notably, we
found that the 2020 medical-students were more interested than their
predecessors in residencies with much resident teaching and more
responsibility/making clinical decisions on their own. In addition, we
found that selection criteria such as, importance of choosing a
specialty that one finds interesting and challenging, are universal over
time.