Iranian Journal of Medical Education

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Introduction. The inappropriate increase in the number of general physicians in Iran is one of the critical and problematic issues of our society which leads to a big concern for medical students regarding their field of study and future career. This research aims to determine the attitude of medical students towards their own future career and field of study in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in the year 2003 in order to inform educational planners about this issue. Methods. In a cross sectional survey, medical students in four levels of study including basic sciences, physiopathology, clerkship and internship were studied in the year 2002 – 2003. 321 students were selected by simple random sampling. The data gathering tool was a valid and reliable questionnaire including 42 attitude questions based on Likert scale. The data were analyzed by SPSS software using frequency distribution, mean and standard deviation, t-test and Pearson Correlation Coefficient. Results. The mean score of the medical students’ attitude towards their future career was 65.2 ± 6.1. Also, 80.9 percent of the students recommended studying medicine to others, 74.2 percent of them did not intend to quit their study, 78.8 percent chose medicine as their first selection in the national entrance examination for the universities, and 71 percent of the students would choose medicine as their first selection if they took the entrance examination again. Conclusion. The results showed the negative attitude of medical students towards their own future career, while the attitude of the majority of them towards their field of study was at an optimal level. Adjusting the number of students accepted for medicine, proper distribution of human resources, informing students about university disciplines before they take the entrance examination, providing financial support for young physicians, and establishing counseling and supporting centers for students is recommended to improve their attitudes.

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Introduction: Medical sciences students’ interest in their field of study will increase their sense of responsibility and academic performance and improve healthcare services. The purpose of this study was to investigate the students’ interest in their field of study and affecting factors in Kashan University of Medical Sciences.

Methods: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, 540 students of different fields of medical sciences were selected using a quota sampling method. Data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation test.

Results: The mean score of the students’ interest in their field of study was 75.69 (out of 100). The majority of the students expressed that they had selected their fields with awareness (76.5%). A rather weak significant inverse correlation was found between age and the interest score (r=-0.1, p=0.025). Among all the factors affecting interest, “being useful to the society” and “the social status of the field” had the highest effect on the students’ interest while “high school teachers” had the lowest effect.

Conclusion: The interest scores were relatively lower in older students. Considering the effects of social status and feeling useful on creating and maintaining the interest in the profession, attempts should be made to reinforce the feeling of being useful in students. Moreover, the number of student admissions should be determined according to the capacity of the labor market.

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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.
 

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