Factors considered by undergraduate medical students when selecting specialty of their future careers

Introduction: medical students are the source of a country's physicians. Determining how medical students select their areas of specialization isthe key to achieve a balanced distribution of doctors among all specialties. The objective is to identify the number of medical students who havedecided their postgraduate specialty career, their career specialties preference, and factors that may influence their decision to select a particular specialty.Methods: a facility based cross-sectional study was conducted in  September 2013 at Faculty of Medicine, University of Medical Sciences and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan. A self-administered semi-structured  questionnaire comprising demographic data and questions about future specialties preferences and factors influencing those preferences was  distributed to 887 male and female students, (from first to fifth academicyears) recruited in the study.Results: response rate was 73% with 647 questionnaires collected, out of 887 eligible medical students. Of the returned questionnaires, 604 were valid. The majority of students (541, 89.6%) have chosen a specialty. Surgery, medicine, paediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology were the most selected specialties. The least selected specialty was  anaesthesiology. A significant association was found between gender and specialty choice using Chi-square test (p=0.00). There was no association between undergraduate level and specialty choice (p=0.633). The most common reason for choosing a specific specialty was "Personal Interest" (215, 39.7 %) followed by being "Helpful to the community" (144, 26.6%). Conclusion: surgery, medicine, paediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology were the most selected specialties

Experiences of pain and pain management in advanced disease and serious illness for people from South Asian communities in Leeds and Bradford: a qualitative interview study

Abstract Background Pain is a significant problem for many people with advanced disease or a serious illness. Culture and ethnicity can affect the experience and management of pain. However, there is limited research in South Asian communities in the UK on their experiences of pain. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences and attitudes of patients and family carers from South Asian communities about pain and its management within advanced disease or serious illness. Methods Qualitative thematic analysis based on descriptive phenomenology (Sundler et al. 2019). Qualitative semi-structured interviews with patients or family carers from South Asian communities (N = 15). Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using an inductive approach. Public and Patient Involvement representatives from British South Asian communities were consulted for guidance. Results There were five key themes from the interviews: The importance of communication about pain with healthcare professionals; Concerns about taking pain medication; Personal resilience, privacy and self-management; Gender, culture and pain; Home pain management as struggle and frustration. Conclusion To improve pain management for people from South Asian communities with advanced disease or a serious illness, there are a number of important issues for healthcare professionals from palliative and primary care services to address. These include: greater awareness around people’s fears and concerns about pain medication; their potential use of alternative pain management strategies; and cultural issues such as resilience, privacy, dignity and gender roles. Effective communication between doctors, patients and family members could be improved by using a ‘cultural humility’ model; providing clear and accessible pain medication information; understanding and taking account of people with both low, and medium levels, of English language proficiency; and improving patient trust. Additionally, improvements to out of hours services could improve pain management for all patients managing their pain at home

Additional file 1 of Experiences of pain and pain management in advanced disease and serious illness for people from South Asian communities in Leeds and Bradford: a qualitative interview study

Additional file 1

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