Perceived factors of choosing anesthesiology as a career among medical students in Umm Al-Qura University: A cross-sectional study

Background and aims: Medical school graduates must choose a specialty to practice medicine, and choosing a specialty is an important decision that is influenced by several factors. This study aimed to identify the factors that would influence anesthesiology choice as a future career among medical students at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia. Methodology: This comparative uni-centre cross-sectional study was conducted between March and June 2022, using an electronic survey. The survey was distributed to female and male medical students of different years and levels of experience. It attempted to evaluate the influence of participants on their choice of anesthesiology as a future career. Result: This study enrolled 349 medical students from UQU with a mean age of 26.6 (SD=1.30). Students from clinicalbased years represented more than students from pre-clinical-related years. The data shows that most students are not interested in choosing anesthesiology as a future career (72.2%). Furthermore, financial income is the most attractive influencer in choosing anesthesiology as a future career (29.23%). On the other hand, having different interests or passions is the most reported deterring factor (44.99%). Moreover, students in the 4th and 6th years don't consider anesthesiology as a future career (P-value, 0.003). Conclusion: According to the study's findings, increased exposure to the anesthesia specialty among medical students is advised to encourage more students to consider anesthesiology as a career.