Iranian Journal of Medical Education

 
Introduction: Field of study and future profession has always been an important subject of education. The purpose of this study was identifying the attitude of public health students at Lorestan University of Medical Sciences toward field of study and future profession.
Methods: This study is a cross-sectional. 78 students of public health from third to eighth semester in the academic year 2018 the population were selected by census method. The questionnaire used in this study is derived from the American University of Minnesota Attitude Questionnaire. It was developed in two sections (demographic characteristics & 17 questions about students̕ attitudes & perspectives toward field of study and future career). To analyze the data T-test, One-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation were used.
Results: The mean score±standard deviation of students’ attitude toward the field of study and future career was 27.14±5.1 (theoretical mean score=27) and 22.79±5.25 (theoretical mean score =24) respectively. There was a significant correlation between their attitude towards field of study and their attitude towards future career (r = 0.472, P<0.0001). Important factors that gave rise to a negative attitude towards the future professions were inconsistencies between the curriculum of Public Health program and needs of society, anxiety about future profession, inadequate salary and employment benefits. Main negative factors related to students' attitudes about field of study were the negative attitude of society and other disciplines towards this field of study
Conclusion: Regarding the results, attitudes of student about their future career and field of study were negative (close to average). Reforming and strengthening educational program, improvement of students’ internship, student admission according to society needs and establishing desirable conditions for graduates’ employment in this field lead to increase students' positive attitudes towards their field of study and consequently improve their attitude towards their future professions.