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. 2022 Oct;70(10):3661-3668.
doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_571_22.

Ophthalmology as a career choice among medical students in Eastern India - A cross-sectional study

Sucheta Parija  1 , Ashna Gupta  1 , Saurav Nayak  2 , Aparajita Banerjee  1 , Chanchal Poddar  1
Affiliations

Ophthalmology as a career choice among medical students in Eastern India - A cross-sectional study

Sucheta Parija et al. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: Several factors influence medical students to choose a specialty branch for post-graduate training, and it is important to understand them so that strategies can be made to make it more attractive and hence the shortage in the workforce can be addressed. This study aimed to identify the factors that influenced under-graduate medical students to choose ophthalmology as their specialty for post-graduate training.

Methods: It was a descriptive, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study, carried out among medical students at a tertiary academic institute in eastern India. In this survey tool, 25 questions were divided into different sections: demographic data, factors influencing the choice and perceptions about ophthalmology as a career option, and the impact of rotatory internship posting on the choice of subject. The various factors were then scored and indexed appropriately.

Results: There were 515 participants. The median age was 23 years. The major influencing factor for choosing ophthalmology was "adequate time" (52.04%), and the discouraging factor was "steep learning curve" (58.64%). Age had an odds ratio of 0.781, showing that the lower the age, the higher the chances of being positively inclined toward ophthalmology as a career choice. Similarly, major deciding factors, perceptions, and experiences in ophthalmology had odds ratios of 1.841, 1.725, and 2.057, respectively, showing a positive inclination.

Conclusion: The study states that a steep learning curve, personal attitudes, and misconceptions may dissuade the students from taking this subject, but adequate clinical exposure and experience, as well as role models during the internship, can create a positive impact on career choice.

Keywords: Career; internship; lifestyle; medical graduates; ophthalmology.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Major deciding factors for choosing ophthalmology as a career
Figure 2
Figure 2
Factors influencing choice of ophthalmology as a career among the students
Figure 3
Figure 3
Perception of students toward ophthalmology as a career choice and a field for future practice
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a and b) Experiences gained during ophthalmology compulsory internship rotation for the students
Figure 5
Figure 5
Heatmap of correlation between the various calculated and assessed indices
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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