title: Specialty preferences and motivating factors: A national survey on medical students from five uae medical schools.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Workforce planning is critical for being able to deliver appropriate health service and thus is relevant to medical education. It is, therefore, important to understand medical students' future specialty choices and the factors that influence them. This study was conducted to identify, explore, and analyze the factors influencing specialty preferences among medical students of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
  
  
  METHODS
  A multiyear, multicenter survey of medical student career choice was conducted with all five UAE medical schools. The questionnaire consisted of five sections. Chi-squared tests, regression analysis, and stepwise logistic regression were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall response rate was 46% (956/2079). Factors that students reported to be extremely important when considering their future career preferences were intellectual satisfaction (87%), work-life balance (71%), having the required talent (70%), and having a stable and secure future (69%). The majority of students (60%) preferred internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, or family Medicine. The most common reason given for choosing a particular specialty was personal interest (21%), followed by flexibility of working hours (17%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data show that a variety of factors inspires medical students in the UAE in their choice of a future medical specialty. These factors can be used by health policymakers, university mentors, and directors of residency training programs to motivate students to choose specialties that are scarce in the UAE and therefore better serve the health-care system and the national community.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Dubai Health Authority, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Mahera
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdulrahman
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Dubai Health Authority, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makki
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shaaban
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al Shamsi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Manda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Venkatramana
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine and Behavioral Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Nabil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sulaiman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Ras al-Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University, Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Manal M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Sami
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Dubai Medical College, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Dima K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Abdelmannan
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Dubai Medical College, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: AbdulJabbar M A
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Salih
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Laila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: AlShaer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002321:Career Choice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013038:Specialization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014479:United Arab Emirates; D000072358:Work-Life Balance; D055815:Young Adult