Career orientation of medical students and some related factors at Thai Nguyen University of Medicine and Pharmacy in 2020

Abstract

Medical doctors are important to the healthcare system, and their future career choices may have high impacts. A cross - sectional descriptive study was conducted among 385 medical students with the aim to describe career orientation of medical students and some related factors potential influencers. Information about their personal characteristics, family and other
related factors was collected by face - to - face interviews using a structured questionnaire. The results showed that nearly 85% of students reported having a clear specialty choice. Among male students, surgery was the most preferred specialty (33.3%) followed by obstetrics (19.1%) and internal medicine (18.2%). Among female students, internal medicine was the most preferred choice (32.3%), followed by subspecialties and obstetrics at 25% and 21.8%, respectively. Factors influencing with career choices included academic achievements, ethnicity, ftness for the job, and idols’ influence.