Career Choices of Medical Doctors In Anambra State, Nigeria And Factors Influencing Their Choices: The Need For Balance

Abstract

Background:
One of the most challenging decisions for any
medical graduate is the career pathway choice. A lot
of factors are known to influence this decision.
Medical graduates make career choices without
reference to societal needs. Some specialties end up
being competitive while some are faced with
shortages. There is need for a balanced distribution
of specialists if the general populace will be served
by the right mix of medical specialists.
Objective:
The study sought to determine the factors
influencing career choices amongst medical doctors.
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional study of doctors in
Anambra State. Stratified sampling technique with
proportionate allocation was used to select the
required number of doctors from each category of
doctors. Simple random sampling was then used to
select the respondents from the various groups.
Data was collected using semi-structured, pre-tested
and validated questionnaire. Analysis was done using
SPSS V 24.
Results:
Two hundred and ninety respondents were recruited
with 62.8% being males. The mean age of
respondents was 39.47 ± 9.25 years. Those who had
opted not to specialize in any area were 13.1%.
More than half of the respondents (59%) were
distributed among the four major specialties of
Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Internal
Medicine and Pediatrics respectively. The major
factors that were found to influence choice of
specialty were personal interest, perceived
competence and future job opportunities in that
specialty. The commonest reasons for change of
from initial desired specialty were stressful nature of
specialty and previous negative experiences.
Conclusion:
Many factors are involved in physician’s choice of
career after graduation. While some specialties have
enough doctors with intense competition, some
other specialties are faced with dire physician
shortages. There is a need for these factors to be
critically analyzed in order to achieve a balanced
distribution of physicians for effective healthcare
service in these communities.