Reasons why Female Students Choose to Take Medicine as a Career

Objective: The purpose of the study is to explore and recognize the variety of reasons that belie the female student body decision of opting for medicine as a career option.

Methods: An interview based study, with both closed and open ended questions, was conducted amongst the female medical students of public and private sector medical colleges in Saudi Arabia. Material and information were gathered using this interview-based questionnaire which the female students were asked to fill out. The duration of study was from 1st October 2021 to 30th January 2022. Analyzed on SPSS version 22.

Results: A total of 900 female medical students participated with 336 (37.3%) from pre-clinical years and 564 (62.7%) from clinical years. The mean age of the respondents was 20.7+1.8 years. The results imply a variety of reasons for the choice of medicine as a profession by the females with majority stressing the desire to serve humanity and the attached respect and acceptance as the other attracting factors. Minor reasons also exist that are discussed in greater depth in the article.

Conclusion: It is evident that in spite of the overwhelming obstacles still prevalent and the conservative attitudes towards career oriented females, women’s deciding to enter the field of medicine is on the increase, as it makes it easier to stand up for when they are wronged and make their own choices. The government can help further by increasing the initiatives to get more females to enroll in the MBBS programs all over the country.