Specialty choices among UK medical students: certainty, confidence and key influences—a national survey (FAST Study)

Specialty choices among UK medical students: certainty, confidence and key influences—a national survey (FAST Study)

Objective To explore factors influencing UK medical students’ specialty choices and examine variations in these influences across demographic groups and stages of training.Design National, cross-sectional online survey.Setting All 44 UK medical schools recognised by the General Medical Council.Parti...

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Main Authors: Jessica Lo, Anna Collins, Sophie West, Daniel MaGee, Sara Ali, Tomas Ferreira, Anson Wong, Kavyesh Vivek, Freya F Semple, Benjamin French, Riya Patel, Guilherme Movio, Andreas Stavrinou, Tushar Rakhecha, Alexander M Collins, Oliver Feng, Maeve K Mulchrone, Heather A Lewis, Sara Kidher, Erin Fitzsimons-West, Meghna Sreekumar, Olivia King, Malvi Shah, Samantha Burley, Basma R Khan, Vaishvi Dalal, Safa Razzaq, Hugo Bernie, Luke Dcaccia, Olivia Rowe, Ananya Jain, Arthur Handscomb, Sudhanvita Arun, Alfaiya Hashmi, Hannah Layton-Joyce, Matilda Gardener, Emily R Finbow, Sakshi Roy, Bilal Qureshi, Khyatee Shah, Mia Mäntylä, Momina Iqbal, Katie Appleton, Yasmin Owadally, Amelia Dickson, Jack M Read, Chiamaka Anthony-Okeke, Rida Khan, Shama Maliha, Catherine L Otoibhi, Sophie Kidd, Muhammed Asif, Tawfique Rizwan, Aleksandra Dunin-Borkowska, James Brawn, Ayeza Akhtar, Medha Pillaai, Sakshi Garg, Ria Bhatt Ben Sweeney, Cameron Thurlow, Alyssa Weissman, Chloe Milton, Samuel Foxcroft, James A Cairn, Leah Njenje, Daniel C Chalk, Jessica Sinyor, Ryan White, Krishnika Vetrivel, Muhammad Hamza Shah, Emily Bolton, Amelia Fortescue, Ella Plumb, Megan Fallows, Ioan Valnarov-Boulter, Hsuan-Tung Kuo, Aryan A Sagdeo, Bethany McDermott, Michael Y Luo, Sharon Yuen Shan Ho, Lubana Hemayet, Dora Pascoe, Leya Luhar, Rakeem Khalid Basith, Mayisha Samiha, Molly Doyle, Flora E MacInnes, Yasmin Al-Rawi, Manuel Giardino, Maisha Hayat, Anjali Cyril, Rivya Mathews, Ashleigh Stirling, Adam Mohamed Capdevila, Zulaikha Bibi, Mackenzie F Garlick, Lily Chadwick, Fariha Hasan, Zoe Mary Constantinou, Beray Berkay, Joseph Nicholson, Louis R Dowland, Tan Jit Yih, Dev Ranka, Kajoke M S Avolonto, Elliot Skittrall, Madison Gill, Humaira Khanom, Jonathan Craven, Harini Elankhumaren, Hannah Glover-Adams, Ishagit Kaur, Maia C Letts, Hesham Zalghana, Urja Ashish Mhatre, Nikita Sanctis, Sundaramoorthy Balasubramanian, Saimathusan Sivakandarajah, Sourab Chand Surana, Rosemary M Davis, Daria Maria Bageac, Ibrahem Al-Obaidi, Subham Roy, Mohammed Suhaib Amin, Tessa Yau, Pakhi Goel, Abderrahmane El Guernaoui, David Gringras, Soo Sun Chong, Aaliyah J Bax, Rachelle Thevathas, Ajwa Fayaz, Pranjil Pokharel Vera Onongaya, Phoebe Hatrick, Rhiannon Tanner, India R Barrons, Louis Naraine, Artemis Prevot, Muaawiyah Shaheen, Farah Ahmed, Mathumetha Rubaratnam, Harsh Sai Modalavalasa, Sushmhitah Sandanatavan, Anhukrisha Karthikeyan, Saarah Saanan Khan, Gregory A Rowland, Alexa McCloskey, Nidhi Sachidananda, Lydia Melaku, Vyom Patel, Iliyah Shahbeik, Jui Kanetkar, Hannah Bolton, Timo L Kuerten, Emily Carver, Mairi C Docherty, Nabilah Ali, Shereen Ahmad, Shiksha Guru, Anushka Pujari, Khadijah Khan, Sewa A Badejo, Ellena K Briggs, Raghad A F Sallama, Emma Marsh, Brandon S H Low, Laura A E Munn, Ahamed Hafeezul Nashith Ahamed Rizwaan, Carys M. Francis, Ali Hamed Mahmood Al-Nakeeb, Michael E. Bryan, Sydney LA Barnes, Tommy Wai Kei LI
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2025-08-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/8/e103061.full
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Summary:Objective To explore factors influencing UK medical students’ specialty choices and examine variations in these influences across demographic groups and stages of training.Design National, cross-sectional online survey.Setting All 44 UK medical schools recognised by the General Medical Council.Participants 8,395 medical students.Primary and secondary outcomes The primary outcome was the specialty preferences of UK medical students. The secondary outcomes were factors behind these preferences and how these factors vary across demographic groups and different stages of training.Results General Practice (15.3%), Paediatrics (10.6%) and Anaesthetics (9.9%) were the most preferred specialties among final-year students. Work-life balance (84.1%), compatibility with family life (78.2%), positive training experiences (85.2%) and future specialty outlook (74.9%) were key factors influencing specialty choice. Only 23.1% of students felt confident about securing a specialty training post, with confidence higher among males (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.52, p<0.0001) and privately educated students (OR 1.18, CI 1.03 to 1.35, p=0.02). Males were also more certain about their career choices (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.31, p<0.0001). Confidence in securing a training place was positively associated with extracurricular achievements, including having a PubMed-indexed publication (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.39 to 2.00, p<0.0001).Conclusions This study highlights disparities in specialty preferences and influencing factors among UK medical students. A focus on improving career guidance, exposure to various specialties and supporting equitable access to training opportunities is essential for fostering a motivated and sustainable medical workforce.
ISSN:2044-6055

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