Table 3.
Reasons of choosing a future specialty among medical students in Kuwait University, academic year 2011/2012
| Rank | Reasons of choosing a specialtya | n | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I would like to see good treatment outcomes on my patients | 66 | 45.8 |
| 2 | I'm looking for a challenging specialty | 58 | 40.3 |
| 3/4 | I'm looking for specialty with good reputation and prestige | 44 | 30.6 |
| 3/4 | I want to have a good social life | 44 | 30.6 |
| 5 | Lack of specialist in this specialty in my country | 43 | 29.9 |
| 6 | I want a high income | 40 | 27.8 |
| 7 | I would like to have a long-term relationship with my patients | 33 | 22.9 |
| 8/9/10/11 | I'm trying to become like a doctor known to me | 32 | 22.2 |
| 8/9/10/11 | I will have better opportunities in the private sector | 32 | 22.2 |
| 8/9/10/11 | I had a personal experience that stimulated my interest in this specialty (me/family member had a condition related to the specialty stimulated my interest) | 32 | 22.2 |
| 8/9/10/11 | I'm looking for a specialty with acceptable working hours | 32 | 22.2 |
| 12 | I would like to see a wide variety of patients with different conditions | 31 | 21.5 |
| 13 | The specialty I want offers more research opportunities | 28 | 19.4 |
| 14/15 | I'm looking for a specialty with acceptable on-call duty | 25 | 17.4 |
| 14/15 | I prefer to treat emergency cases | 25 | 17.4 |
| 16/17 | I prefer to treat non-urgent cases | 22 | 15.3 |
| 16/17 | I would like to see a narrow group of patients with specific problems | 22 | 15.3 |
| 18/19 | I would like to focus on treating patients in the ward (inpatients) | 21 | 14.6 |
| 18/19 | I would like to focus on treating patients in clinics (outpatients) | 21 | 14.6 |
| 20/21 | I do not want to have a direct interaction with patients | 14 | 9.7 |
| 20/21 | I want to treat less complicated patients | 14 | 9.7 |
| 22 | I'm looking for a specialty program with a short duration | 10 | 6.9 |
| Other reasonsb | 22 | 15.3 |
a
Include only frequency and percentage of participants who selected ‘Yes’.
b
Other reasons include:
(1) Prefer an interventional medical specialty.
(2) Prefer a specialty that involves treating medical and surgical conditions.
(3) Prefer to work with children.
(4) Work better under stress.
(5) Enjoyed the specialty during my study.
(6) Special interest in specific diseases.