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Factors Influencing the Intention to Pursue Surgery among Female Pre-Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Pakistan

  • Surgery in Low and Middle Income Countries
  • Published:
World Journal of Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

While gender disparities in surgery are documented worldwide, it is unclear to what extent women consider surgery as a career before embarking on their medical school journey. This study aimed to report the percentage of pre-medical women in Pakistan who intend to eventually specialize in surgery and assess the factors motivating and deterring this decision.

Methods

An online survey was conducted among female pre-medical (high school) students across Pakistan. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine motivating and deterring factors associated with the intention to pursue surgery.

Results

Out of 1219 female high-school students, 764 (62.7) intended to join medical school. Among these 764, only 9.8% reported an exclusive intent to pursue surgery, while just 20.3% reported considering other specialties in addition to surgery. Significant motivators to pursue surgery exclusively were the intellectual satisfaction of pursuing surgery (adjusted odds ratio: 2.302), having opportunities to travel internationally for work (2.300) and use cutting-edge technology (2.203), interest in the specialty of surgery (2.031), the social prestige of becoming a surgeon (1.910), and considering one’s personality well-suited to surgery (1.888). Major deterrents included the lack of interest in surgery (adjusted odds ratio: 3.812), surgical education and training being too difficult (2.440) and lengthy (1.404), and the risk of aggressive behavior from patients (2.239).

Conclusion

Even before entering medical school, most female pre-medical students have already decided against considering a future surgical career. Deterrents likely stem from women being pressured to conform to deep-seated societal expectations to dedicate their time and energy to domestic responsibilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan

    Russell Seth Martins, Asad Saulat Fatimi, Shamila Ladak, Hamzah Jehanzeb, Raisa Saleh, Inaara Akbar & Manzar Abbas

  2. Research & Development Wing, Society for Promoting Innovation in Education, Aga Khan University, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan

    Russell Seth Martins, Asad Saulat Fatimi, Shamila Ladak, Hamzah Jehanzeb, Raisa Saleh, Inaara Akbar & Manzar Abbas

  3. Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, 74200, Pakistan

    Gaurav Kumar & Shamama Kaleem

  4. Nixor College, Karachi, Pakistan

    Muhammad Saad

  5. Section of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan

    Sarah Nadeem

  6. Section of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan

    Mahim A. Malik

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  1. Russell Seth Martins
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  2. Asad Saulat Fatimi
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Correspondence to Mahim A. Malik.

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The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

We received exemption from complete review by the Aga Khan University Ethics Review Committee (ERC Number: 2020–5368-14553).

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

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Martins, R.S., Fatimi, A.S., Ladak, S. et al. Factors Influencing the Intention to Pursue Surgery among Female Pre-Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Pakistan. World J Surg 46, 2063–2072 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-022-06589-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-022-06589-8

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