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Factors that influence medical students’ decision to pursue a career in orthopaedics: a comprehensive analysis

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Abstract

Purpose

Selecting a postgraduate medical or surgical specialty is a significant decision for medical students, influenced by factors such as demographics, academic performance, satisfaction, work environments, personal aspirations, passion for a specific specialty, exposure to different fields during medical education, lifestyle considerations, financial factors, job market conditions, and prospects. Our research focused on orthopaedic surgery, a highly competitive specialty with many applicants and a low acceptance rate. We aimed to investigate the factors that contribute to the sustained interest in this specialty despite the challenges of securing a residency position. Hence, this study aims to examine the potential factors that influence students' decision to pursue a career as an orthopaedic surgeon.

Methods

This cross-sectional study explores the perspectives and attitudes of 211 fifth-year medical students towards orthopaedic surgery after completing their clinical rotation at Mutah University's School of Medicine in 2022. The inclusion criteria for the study were limited to fifth-year medical students who successfully finished the orthopaedic rotation. A questionnaire was employed to evaluate students' firm commitment to orthopaedics as a prospective career and the degree of their current interest in the specialty.

Results

The study involved 210 participants, with 99 selecting orthopaedics as their specialty and 111 pursuing alternatives. Furthermore, 41.4% expressed the intention to apply for orthopaedic residencies. Factors impacting orthopaedics selection included family/peer input (p = 0.002), prestige (p = 0.002), research prospects (p = 0.005), leadership potential (p = 0.011). Chi-square analysis showed associations between choosing orthopaedics and male gender (p = 0.028), parental occupation in musculoskeletal fields (p = 0.038), and elective rotations (p = 0.016).

Conclusion

This study examines the factors that influence medical students’ career preferences in orthopaedic surgery, highlighting the significance of familial and peer influences, job prestige perceptions, gender considerations, parental involvement, elective rotations, research and teaching potential assessments, and aspirations for leadership roles. These findings reveal the complex array of factors that guide medical students toward orthopaedic surgery.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but may be made available by the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the technical support of all the radiology staff.

Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Mutah University, Al-karak, Jordan

    Moh’d S. Dawod & Mothana A. Al-Takhaineh

  2. Department of Orthopedics, Jordan University Hospital, P.O. Box: 13046, Amman, 11942, Jordan

    Mohammad N. Alswerki

Authors
  1. Moh’d S. Dawod
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  2. Mohammad N. Alswerki
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  3. Mothana A. Al-Takhaineh
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study's conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Mohammad N. Alswerki. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Moh'd S. Dawod and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. The analysis was done by Mothana Al-Takhaineh. The discussion section, the conclusion, and the abstract were done by Mohammad Alswerki. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad N. Alswerki.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Mutah University (IRB approval number 123/2023).

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of the results of this research.

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The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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Level of evidence: Level IV, cross-sectional study

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Dawod, M.S., Alswerki, M.N. & Al-Takhaineh, M.A. Factors that influence medical students’ decision to pursue a career in orthopaedics: a comprehensive analysis. International Orthopaedics (SICOT) 48, 1139–1147 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-024-06132-5

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