title: [Career preferences among medical students].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Research on the preference of medical specialty among medical students in the Netherlands and the attractiveness of aspects of the medical profession during the period 2009-2013.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective, descriptive research.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from medical students in the Netherlands who participated in the computer programme Inventory Medical Professionals Choice (IMBK) were analyzed with respect to their preference of medical specialty and the attractiveness of various aspects of the medical profession. The IMBK programme was available free of charge through the Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) website 'Arts in Spe' (Future Physician) during the period 2009-2013. The content of the IMBK programme was based on the questionnaire from the medical profile book developed by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
  
  
  RESULTS
  General practice was the most popular specialty, particularly among female medical students, with interest increasing during the undergraduate medical curriculum. Hardly any students were interested in insurance medicine, occupational medicine and elderly medicine. Direct patient care was the most attractive professional aspect for medical students. Female students were more attracted to direct and prolonged patient contact than their male counterparts. The number of hours students wished to work in future declined during the course of the undergraduate curriculum, and women were more inclined to prefer regular working hours with adequate leisure time than men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  During the course of the undergraduate medical curriculum, medical students changed their preference for medical specialty. Major differences exist between male and female students in terms of preference of medical specialty and attractiveness of aspects of the medical profession.
authors.affiliation: VU medisch centrum, afd. Sociale Geneeskunde, EMGO+ Instituut, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Marc B M
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Soethout
authors.forename: Olle Th J
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: ten Cate
mesh_terms: D002321:Career Choice; D003479:Curriculum; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008511:Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009426:Netherlands; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires