PhD ceremony Mr. S.I. Mahmood: Selection of medical students and their specialty choices

PhD ceremony: Mr. S.I. Mahmood

Dissertation: Selection of medical students and their specialty choices

Promotor(s): prof. J.C.C. Borleffs

Faculty: Medical Sciences

Medical school admission and medical specialty selection after medical school graduation are very important areas of medical education, as the former determine the types of doctors being produced, and the latter forms the basis of a doctor’s professional career. The research presented in this thesis aims to provide a better understanding of these two decisive issues. The first study investigated selection procedures to find out optimum weight for the secondary school results in the selection process. The results show that the current weight given to the previous academic achievement is acceptable, but a mixture of selection tools might be more effective in selection processes. The second study sheds light on the trends and preferences in the student’s specialist choices showing some unique patterns. The third study of this thesis deals with personality traits in relation to the specialty choices of medical students. The study is the first of its kind in the Arab world. Students differ on scales of ZKPQ, showing interesting patterns. The fourth study deals with the career support and guidance systems for newly qualified doctors. The results emphasize the need of starting the structured career guidance early during the undergraduate training in order to avoid the potential wastage of time and resources. The last study investigates the perceptions and attitudes of medical students concerning research and a research career. The results confirm the reported global decline in physician-scientists with major obstacles to involvement in research in medical school appearing in due time, and the recommendation to improve the availability of research mentors and training in research methodology.