Specialization tendency, specialty choise and affective factors in medical students

Aim: Specialization tendency and choice of specialty are two essential issues in career planning of medical students and physicians, and career-planning preferences are shaped during medical education. Methods: This cross-sectional study was planned to evaluate the career-planning and affective factors among medical students and performed with the participation of 798 medical students. Results: First of all, 85,7% of the students had specialization tendency in their career plans. Among the female students; specialty determining was observed higher in female students, preclinic students and who have physicians and/or specialist in their family and relations than other groups of students. The most preferred specialties are pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics and psychiatry. While the main causes for students who are planning career in a specialty are “to desire to working in a specific area provide professional satisfaction”, “status and career expectancy” and “concern for income”, the main causes for students who are planning career in general practioner are “existence of Medical Specialty Examination”, “difficulty of residency period” and “national health politics”. Conclusion: Identifying and discussing the specialization tendency of physicians will play an important role in health workforce planning