Preference and Determinants of Medical Interns for Area of Specialization in Postgraduate Medical Education: A Cross-Sectional Study from a Medical College in Etawah District, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Background: Career choice in medicine remains a complex, multi-factorial decision influenced by individual aptitude, gender, perceived social status, expected income, working conditions, and role models. Understanding specialty preferences among medical interns—who stand at the threshold of postgraduate career decisions—has critical implications for health workforce planning, especially in a country like India where physician distribution is markedly skewed. This study aimed to assess the preferences of medical interns for areas of postgraduate specialization and to identify the sociodemographic determinants of these preferences at a tertiary medical college in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Uttar Pradesh University of Medical Sciences (UPUMS), Saifai, Etawah, during October 1–15, 2023. All 200 registered medical interns were approached using complete enumeration. A self-administered structured questionnaire via google forms was used for data collection. After obtaining informed consent, 112 interns participated (response rate: 56%). Sociodemographic data and specialty preferences were collected. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS software version 25. Chi-square test was applied to assess associations between categorical variables. Statistical significance was evaluated at 95% confidence interval.
Results: Of 112 participants (mean age 23.8 ± 1.2 years), 58 (51.8%) were male and 54 (48.2%) were female. The majority (98.2%) preferred clinical branches, while only 2 (1.8%) favoured pre-clinical subjects. Medicine and allied specialties were most preferred (52.2%) by the participants, followed by Surgery and allied branches (36.6%). Among individual specialties, General medicine was the top choice (30.4%), followed by paediatrics. Significant associations were found between specialty preference and age (p < 0.05), sex (p < 0.05), and marital status (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Clinical specialties, particularly medicine and allied branches, dominate the postgraduate aspirations of medical interns. Significant sociodemographic determinants—including age, sex, and marital status—influence these preferences. These findings highlight the need for targeted career counselling and policy-level interventions to encourage greater interest in pre-clinical and preventive medicine disciplines, which are essential for a balanced health workforce.
Keywords: Specialty preference, medical interns, postgraduate medical education, career choice, India, health workforce planning
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