Attitude of MBBS students towards opting for the medical profession in colleges of Uttarakhand

Authors

  • Amit Mittal Department of Community Medicine, Graphic Era Institute of Medical Sciences, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
  • Neha Upadhyai Department of Community Medicine, Graphic Era Institute of Medical Sciences, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
  • Kajal Gupta Department of Community Medicine, Graphic Era Institute of Medical Sciences, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20253257

Keywords:

Medical profession, MBBS, Career choices, Cross sectional study, Self -interest

Abstract

Background: Medical profession is considered as the most highly rated profession. Many students join the medical profession by their own interest but some join under parental or peer pressure. The current study was carried out to find out the reasons for choosing medical profession as career among the medical college students.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among phase I medical students (batch 2024) from all over the state of Uttarakhand through a predesigned and pre validated questionnaire. Google form was circulated through social media platform to phase-I MBBS students of Uttarakhand. Data entry and analysis were done by using Microsoft Excel and Chi square test of association was used.

Results: Out of 314 students enrolled in the study maximum 85.4% were in the age group of 17-20 years. Majority 79.6% of students have chosen self-interest for their profession as the reason for choosing MBBS as their career. Only female students chose obstetrics and gynecology as their preferred specialty and this association was statistically significant (p=0.0236).

Conclusions: Self-interest was the most common reason for choosing the medical profession as career. Most students planned to specialize in surgical and medicine branches. A follow-up study would be useful to identify further trends in career choices as well as in choosing specialties because it is observed that their interests in specialities change due to one reason or another.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Jothula KY, Ganapa P, Sreeharshika D, Naidu NK, Abhishek P. Study to find out reasons for opting medical profession and regret after joining MBBS course among first year students of a medical college in Telangana. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2018;5:1392-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20180983

Rani NA, Nusrath A, Dhanalakshmi TA. Medical profession as career- pressure or passion: a cross-sectional survey among undergraduate medical students. Int J Med Sci Educ. 2016;3(4): 322-7.

Anand R, Sankaran PS. Factors influencing the career preferences of medical students and interns: a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey from India. J Educ Eval Health Prof. 2019;16:12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3352/jeehp.2019.16.12

Aisha N, Ameen N, Jassim G. Career choices among medical students and factors influencing their choices. Glob J Health Sci. 2019;11(4):132-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v11n4p132

Kasarla RR, Verma A, Pathak L. Attitudes of MBBS students towards medical profession: a study in a medical school. Janaki Med Coll J Med Sci. 2022);10(3):18-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/jmcjms.v10i03.55546

Ramya MR, Lakshmi N, Balamurugan P, Nambiar S. Reasons for choosing medical profession as the career among medical college students in Kancheepuram district. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2021;8(1):412-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20205731

Tiwari R, Jain V, Arya R, Dwivedi S, Shrivastava D, Tiwari S. A study to assess the perceptions of first year medical students for choosing medical school as a career. Int J Res Med Sci. 2016;4:2649 55. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20161926

Radhika S, Nilofer M. Aptitude evaluation for medical profession in first and final year MBBS students. PJMS. 2012;2(2):41-5.

Shrivatsam P, Yadav PK, Chand PP. Study to find out reasons for opting medical profession and regret after joining MBBS course among first year students of a medical college in Andhra Pradesh. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2024;11:2847-51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20241848

Ayuob NN, Sindi AH, El Deek BS. Medicine as a career a cross-sectional study on undergraduate medical students at King Abdulaziz University. Int J Res Med Sci. 2016;4:593-601. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20160322

Shankar N. Motivation and preparedness of first semester medical students for a career in medicine; Indian J Physio Pharmaco. 2013;57(4)2013;57(4):432-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5049.118517

Bathala N, Chelamkuri G, Majeti S, Venkateswarlu M. An analysis on aptitude and attitude of newly joined medical students-Medical college based study in South India. J Educ Tech Health Sci. 2017;4(3):97-101.

Rashmi R, Jeevithan S, Sridhar MG, Kalanithi TP. Choice of medical profession-passion or pressure: medical students perspectives. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22159/ijpps.2023v15i2.46726

Gaikwad V, Sudeepa D, Suwarna M. A study on career preferences and attitude towards the rural health services among the graduating interns of a medical college in Bangalore rural. Int J Biol Med Res. 2012;3(2):1577-80.

Gour N, Srivastava D, Adhikari P, Shahi A, Sharma MK, Mahajan PC. Specialty preference among medical students and factors affecting it. Online J Health Allied Sci. 2011;10(2):12.

Rehman A, Rehman T, Shaikh MA, Yasmin H, Asif A, Kafil H. Pakistani medical students’ specialty preference and the influencing factors. J Pak Med Assoc. 2011;61(7):713-8.

Saigal P, Takemura Y, Nishiue T, Fetters MD. Factors considered by medical students when formulating their specialty preferences in Japan: findings from a qualitative study. BMC Med Educ. 2007;7:31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-7-31

Khader Y, Al-Zoubi D, Amarin Z, Alkafagei A, Khasawneh M, Burgan S. Factors affecting medical students in formulating their specialty preferences in Jordan. BMC Med Educ. 2008;8(1):32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-8-32

Baboolal NS, Hutchinson GA. Factors affecting the future choice of specialty among first-year medical students of the university of the West Indies, Trinidad. Med Educ. 2007;41(1):50-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2006.02646.x

Dikici MF, Yaris F, Topsever P, Tuncay Muge F, Gurel FS, Cubukcu M. Factors affecting choice of specialty among first year medical students of four universities in different regions of Turkey. Croat Med J. 2008;49(3):415-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3325/cmj.2008.3.415

Downloads

Published

2025-09-30

How to Cite

Mittal, A., Upadhyai, N., & Gupta, K. (2025). Attitude of MBBS students towards opting for the medical profession in colleges of Uttarakhand. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 12(10), 4587–4592. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20253257

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles