Career aspirations of house officers in Lagos, Nigeria.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the career aspirations of interns (house officers) working in two hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria.


METHODS
All house officers working in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the General Hospital, Ikeja were invited to participate in a cross sectional survey. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data.


RESULTS
Specialization choice was evident in 97.1% of the interns while they were undergraduates but this declined to 82.9% on qualifying, though chosen specialties did not vary much between both periods. The preferred specialties were surgery (18.1%), obstetrics and gynaecology (18.1%), paediatrics (9.5%) and dental sciences (10.5%). Doctors who were below the age of 26 years were significantly more likely to want to specialize than others (P=0.017). Furthermore, respondents who had no regrets about selecting medicine as a career were significantly more willing to specialize than others (P=0.013). The major reasons for wanting to specialize were interest in specialty (72.4%), job satisfaction (67.6%) and bright prospects in selected field (54.3%). However, 14.4% no longer wanted to practise medicine while 69% would have liked to leave Nigeria, mainly for the United States of America. Financial considerations were a major reason for both groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology continue to attract young doctors to the detriment of other specialties. Financial considerations are also a key determinant of with regard to place of future practice.
Odusanya
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Department of Community Medicine and Primary Care, Lagos State, University College of Medicine, P.M.B. 21266, Ikeja, Nigeria.
Nwawolo
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D000328:Adult; D002321:Career Choice; D002322:Career Mobility; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D009549:Nigeria; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires