Aftab Asif, Shahana Naz, Usman Amin Hotiana.
Choice of psychiatry as a profession amongst medical graduates: a cross sectional survey of career choices made by kemu graduates of 2008 to 2010.
J Pak Psych Soc Jan ;11(2):32-5.

Objective: To determine the speciality preference amongst doctors during house job and postgraduate studies, their preferred place of working / choice of continuation in their profession. Design: Survey research design. Place and duration of study: The study was conducted at the Academic Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Sciences, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan from March 2014 to September 2014. Subjects and Methods: Doctors of King Edward Medical University, session 2008 to 2010 were contacted through a mail survey by using convenience sampling. After ethical approval, 600 doctors were sent a questionnaire. 401 doctors responded. The questionnaire covered the demographic details, preferences about career, specialties, post-graduation program and current working place. Results: Our study revealed that out of 401 doctors who responded, 53 % were female and 47% were male with a mean age of 28.5 years (±1.4). 277 (69.1%) were doing their post-graduation in different specialties. 60% were working in Pakistan while 40% doctors had proceeded abroad. A majority of doctors have continued in their profession (80%), while 20% have changed their profession to another field. 39.4% of those who responded are working in government hospitals. Medicine and surgery were the most preferred specialities while psychiatry was the third least preferred speciality, followed only by dermatology and pathology. Basic sciences were a lower priority than clinical fields. Majority preferred to work in major cities or go abroad. Conclusion: Most doctors continue to pursue their own profession amongst both the genders. Psychiatry is an uncommon choice made by fresh graduates. Medicine is the commonest career choice. Fellowship and Membership of College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan are the commonest postgraduate programmes chosen. A large number of doctors however continue to opt to settle abroad.

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