Specialty choice determinants among Mexican medical students: a cross-sectional study

BMC Medical Education

Table 1 Average importance of each item compared by chosen specialty and sex in senior medical students at UNAM Faculty of Medicine in Mexico City (n = 697). 0 = not determinant, 3 = most determinant. Numbers in parentheses represent the order of importance of each item

Item	GS^a	OB/GYN	IM	FM	Peds	Women	Men
Type of patients in the specialty	2.2 (5)	2.5 (1)	2.5 (1)	2.0 (5)	2.5 (1)	2.4 (2)	2.3 (2)
Variety of medical problems in the specialty	2.1 (6)	2.1 (5)	2.5 (2)	1.9 (10)	2.2 (8)	2.2 (4)	2.2 (6)
Work to do during the specialty	2.2 (4)	2.4 (3)	2.4 (3)	2.3 (2)	2.5 (2)	2.4 (1)	2.3 (3)
Specialty social engagement	1.8 (10)	2.0 (9)	2.1 (9)	1.9 (9)	2.2 (6)	2.0 (9)	1.9 (9)
Possibility of studying a subspecialty	2.2 (2)	2.1 (7)	2.2 (7)	1.6 (13)	2.2 (7)	2.1 (7)	2.2 (5)
Opportunities to perform research	1.6 (14)	1.3 (15)	1.6 (13)	1.4 (17)	1.5 (14)	1.5 (14)	1.7 (13)
Specialty duration	1.9 (12)	1.5 (13)	1.5 (16)	2.1 (4)	1.8 (12)	1.7 (13)	1.6 (14)
Expectation of free time	1.6 (15)	1.6 (12)	1.7 (12)	1.9 (9)	1.8 (13)	1.8 (12)	1.7 (12)
Possibility of raising a family	1.8 (11)	1.8 (10)	1.7 (12)	1.9 (9)	1.9 (10)	1.8 (10)	1.8 (10)
Potential autonomy after graduation	2.0 (8)	2.1 (8)	2.1 (8)	1.9 (12)	2.0 (9)	2.0 (8)	2.1 (7)
Financial reasons	1.4 (17)	1.5 (14)	1.3 (17)	1.4 (15)	1.4 (16)	1.3 (17)	1.4 (17)
Family support during the specialty	1.8 (9)	1.8 (11)	1.8 (10)	2.0 (6)	1.9 (11)	1.8 (11)	1.8 (11)
Role models	1.5 (16)	1.3 (17)	1.6 (14)	1.5 (14)	1.5 (15)	1.4 (15)	1.6 (15)
Pleasant academic experience in the specialty	2.2 (4)	2.1 (6)	2.3 (5)	2.2 (3)	2.3 (4)	2.2 (5)	2.3 (4)
Medical internship with pleasant experiences in the specialty	2.1 (7)	2.1 (4)	2.2 (6)	1.9 (12)	2.3 (5)	2.1 (6)	2.0 (8)
Specialty prestige	1.6 (13)	1.3 (16)	1.6 (15)	1.4 (17)	1.2 (17)	1.4 (16)	1.5 (16)
To have skills related to the specialty	2.2 (1)	2.4 (2)	2.4 (4)	2.5 (1)	2.4 (3)	2.3 (3)	2.4 (1)

^aGS general surgery, OB/GYN gynecology and obstetrics, IM internal medicine, FM family medicine, Peds pediatrics

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