Table 3.
Factors influencing specialty preferences among medical students at Jordan University of Science and Technology according to gender.
| Male (n = 280) n (%) | Female (n = 160) n (%) | Total N (%) | P-value * | |
| Hours of practice | 41 (14.6) | 34 (21.3) | 75 (17.0) | 0.076 |
| On-call schedule | 29 (10.4) | 32 (20.0) | 61 (13.9) | 0.005 |
| Flexibility of specialty | 127 (45.4) | 57 (35.6) | 184 (41.8) | 0.046 |
| Interaction with physicians | 132 (47.1) | 67 (41.9) | 199 (45.2) | 0.286 |
| Specialty reputation | 183 (65.4) | 76 (47.5) | 259 (58.9) | 0.000 |
| Duration of residency program | 60 (21.4) | 41 (25.6) | 101 (23.0) | 0.314 |
| Work pressure | 71 (25.4) | 34 (21.3) | 105 (23.9) | 0.331 |
| Interest in research | 118 (42.1) | 53 (33.1) | 171 (38.9) | 0.062 |
| Interest in long term relations with patients | 96 (34.3) | 62 (38.8) | 158 (35.9) | 0.348 |
| Physician-patient interaction | 32 (11.4) | 17 (10.6) | 49 (11.1) | 0.797 |
| Diversity of patients | 131 (46.8) | 72 (45.0) | 203 (46.1) | 0.718 |
| Anticipated income | 183 (65.4) | 72 (45.0) | 255 (58.0) | 0.000 |
| Focus on community health | 78 (27.9) | 72 (45.0) | 150 (34.1) | 0.000 |
| Focus on urgent care | 163 (58.2) | 78 (48.8) | 241 (54.8) | 0.055 |
| Curriculum | 102 (36.4) | 68 (42.5) | 170 (38.6) | 0.208 |
| Intellectual content of the specialty | 239 (85.4) | 132 (82.5) | 371 (84.3) | 0.428 |
| Individual's competencies | 185 (66.1) | 96 (60.0) | 281 (63.9) | 0.202 |
| Emulate a physician | 119 (42.5) | 65 (40.6) | 184 (41.8) | 0.701 |
| Advice from faculty | 31 (11.1) | 18 (11.3) | 49 (11.1) | 0.954 |
| Advice from friends | 36 (12.9) | 13 (8.1) | 49 (11.1) | 0.129 |
| Advice from parents | 93 (33.2) | 60 (37.5) | 153 (34.8) | 0.364 |
| Advice from practicing physicians | 73 (26.1) | 45 (28.1) | 118 (26.8) | 0.640 |
* Chi-square test for the difference between males and females