Choices in career specialisation among junior doctors working in tertiary care centres in Sri Lanka: trends and determinants

Background: Sri Lanka has limited published data to offer on this topic that provides key knowledge in planning undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, health policy planning and implementation. This study aims to describe the choices for career specialization in junior medical graduates working in the medical faculties and tertiary care hospitals of Sri Lanka and determine the factors that influenced the choices.

Method: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among 270 junior doctors, to evaluate their preferences for specialization and determinants.

Results: There was a predominance of female participants (56.3%). The 4 major specialities were the most preferred choices, with clinical medicine on top (18.9%) while a career in public health was the least favoured option (1.1%). A university career was preferred by 17.4%. There was a statistically significant difference between the specialization choices between men and women. The leading factors that determined the choice were interest and skills and abilities in a given field (45.6%).

Conclusions: Trends of choices and determinants have changed over the last 3 decades, possibly due to the introduction of new specialities, among other causes. Career guidance programmes need to be strengthened. Differences in the career choices and their determinants and reasons why some specialties are less favoured should be studied in detail.