[The concept of the Excellence Academy of the Convention of University Professorships for Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery]. / Konzept der Exzellenz-Akademie des Konventes der Universitätsprofessuren für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie (KUOU).

BACKGROUND: The departure of young habilitated colleagues from their university careers reflects, on the one hand, a move away from university medicine per se and, on the other, an unwillingness to take on university management positions. In addition to the question of "How do I qualify for these positions?", the question of "Why should I aspire to such a position?" is increasingly taking centre stage when less expensive alternatives are available. In addition, there is uncertainty about the extent to which one's own achievements and qualities are sufficient to distinguish oneself clinically and scientifically in the course of one's career and thereby recommend oneself for management positions. AIMS: This is where the KUOU's Excellence Academy comes in, with the aim of identifying young colleagues with high potential for university leadership positions at an early stage, encouraging them to get to know each other, and focusing the attention and visibility of the university locations and the associated appreciation on the members of the Academy. The focus here is on ensuring that excellent colleagues benefit from the many years of experience of the members of the KUOU, receive feedback on their clinical and scientific achievements and are supported in their university career in the form of mentoring. CONCLUSION: The large number of 22 very good applications, of which 12 candidates were accepted, confirms our belief that there are excellently qualified colleagues at our sites, who are ready to take on responsibility in the future in the triad of research, teaching and patient care.

Minority Student Perceptions of the Impact of Financial Cost of Pharmacy School and Career Choice at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU).

OBJECTIVE: One of the barriers that might prevent an underrepresented minority (URM) individual from pursuing a professional career in the United States is finances. The high disproportionate burden of student debt among URM students further perpetuates the racial wealth gap. Therefore, this study sought to evaluate the extent to which URM students' personal finance perceptions, and current and projected student loan indebtedness affect postgraduation career intentions. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from four cohorts of pharmacy students using a survey from November 2, 2022, to February 1, 2023. The financial perception survey included subscales namely personal finance self-efficacy, debt influence and pressure, and risk mitigation and retirement. Descriptive statistics, simple logistic regression, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: In total, 93 students completed the survey and had a mean age of 28.1 ± 5.3 years. Seventy-one percent of the respondents were female, and 67.7 % had completed a 4-year bachelor's degree. There was a significant association between age and the intention to pursue postgraduate training as well as a significant association between risk mitigation and retirement perceptions and intention to pursue postgraduate training after adjusting for other factors. CONCLUSION: Among students from largely minority backgrounds, age, and confidence in their ability to make wise investment decisions for retirement are associated with a greater likelihood of pursuing postgraduate training opportunities.

Pre-service teachers' altruistic motivation for choosing teaching as a career: where does it come from?

This study aims to examine the factors influencing pre-service teachers' altruistic motivation for selecting their profession within a Chinese educational setting. Drawing on existing research, a three-element (social-cognitive, emotional, and realistic) model is integrated to explore how pre-service teachers' altruistic motivations are formed and evolved. Utilizing this model, interview data from 18 students enrolled in the Chinese Free Teacher Education program were collected and analyzed by thematic analysis. The findings indicate that social-cognitive factors impact altruistic motivation through engagement with social issues and reflections on practical educational challenges. The emotional factor is manifested through the participants' positive and negative emotions. The realistic factor comprises familial influences and personal career preferences, which play a role in the decision to pursue teaching as a lifelong vocation. This study proposes a structured and functional model that can serve as a foundation for future research into the development of altruistic motivation. It also offers insights into nurturing altruistic motivation among both pre-service and practicing teachers in their career decision-making process.

Developing a broad perspective of future work and career in medical students through field trips to a disaster area: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: Field trips to disaster-affected areas (FTDAs) without a specific purpose, such as medical cooperation, are widely used in medical education. However, what medical students gain from FTDAs remains unclear. The present study aimed to clarify what medical students gain from FTDAs. Five medical students who had visited the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan participated in a semi-structured group interview to ask what they gained from such a visit. The narratives were analysed using open coding. RESULTS: The following four themes emerged: "Spirit of scientific inquiry", "Foundation for lifelong education and personal growth", "Broadened understanding of the medical profession", and "Importance of practicing medicine in the community setting". The ambiguity of medical students' specific roles in the field trip compared to the fieldwork may have encouraged them to make sense of the experience from their perspective. As a result, students may have gained a broader perspective of their future work and career through the FTDA. If medical educators can gain consensus from the residents of a disaster site, different disaster-affected areas can be potential sites for medical education using FTDAs.

Medical trainees' speciality considerations at their transition from under- to postgraduate education: a descriptive, cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: This paper aims to provide knowledge on medical trainees' considerations about specialisation as they move from undergraduate to postgraduate medical education; especially their interest in general practice compared to other specialities. METHOD: We developed and content-validated a questionnaire to examine medical trainees' speciality considerations and conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study. All medical trainees initiating their internship in Denmark in 2022 (N = 1,188) were invited to participate in the study. Medical specialities were categorised as hospital service specialities, internal medicine specialities, primary care, psychiatry specialities and surgery and emergency specialities. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the cohort and examine the participants' speciality considerations by assigning them to one of the following three orientations: committed, undecided or non-committed to a speciality. RESULTS: The response rate was 38.8% (n = 461), and participants' mean age was 27.4 years with a majority of females (68.1%). Nearly 25% of the participants had general practice as speciality preference, and only 13.9% had excluded general practice for future specialisation. Overall, around half of the participants had general practice as a first, second or third preference for specialisation. CONCLUSION: Danish medical trainees show considerable interest in general practice at the time of their transition from undergraduate to postgraduate education. However, to meet future demands on the primary care, further recruitment of general practitioners is still needed. This knowledge of the specialities' recruitment potential will likely be of interest to medical educators and healthcare planners alike.

Perceptions of community care among nursing students: A cross-sectional study with implications to nursing workforce.

BACKGROUND: A shift of health care services towards community care has driven the need to develop the community care nursing workforce. However, challenges exist in attracting nursing graduates to a career in community care. AIM: To examine perceptions of community care and placement preference among undergraduate nursing students across different years of study in a Singapore university. METHODS: This study examined perceptions of community care and placement preference among undergraduate nursing students across different years of study. A cross-sectional study was conducted using the 'Scale on COmmunity care Perceptions' (SCOPE). RESULTS: Only 31.3 % of the 501 nursing students who completed the survey preferred community care placement. They rated opportunities for advancement, work status and enthusiastic colleagues in community care with relatively lower scores in the SCOPE. Students' placement preferences and year of study were predictive factors of their perceptions of community care nursing. Students who indicated their placement preference in home-based care (p < 0.001) and intermediate long-term care (p < 0.05) reported significantly positive perceptions towards community nursing as compared to students who indicated acute care as their preferred placement. Despite pre-perceived ideas among the year 1 cohort, the community care placement within their course curriculum had an impact on year 2 to 4 students' perceptions of community care. CONCLUSIONS: These findings identified key strategies to increase the community care nursing workforce which include promoting a better understanding of the role of a community nurse, providing quality community placement opportunities supported by preceptors who are good role models and fostering an optimistic career outlook and advancement in community nursing.

The impact of final-year clinical placements on nursing students' career planning for the graduate year and beyond.

AIMS: This study had three objectives: 1) to determine final-year nursing students' career preferences and long-term career plans; 2) to investigate factors influencing nursing students' specialty choices following their final-year clinical placement(s); and 3) to understand how final-year clinical placements can be used to develop the career interests of nursing students to different nursing specialties. BACKGROUND: Clinical placement provides an insightful experience that may influence students to feel inclined to work in certain specialties. Therefore, each clinical placement should promote students' learning and enhance positive experiences that could develop their career interests and encourage them to seek employment in the specialty on graduation. DESIGN: A cross-sectional online survey. METHODS: The survey was structured using the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale - Short Form. The questionnaire was distributed to final-year nursing students (N = 222) at two public universities in Western Australia. This study specifically reports on the Goal selection and Planning domains of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale - Short Form, which were explored through additional questions prompting participants to explain their career preferences and reasons for their nursing specialty choices. RESULTS: Most participants, fifty-three percent, had low confidence in making career decisions. The Goal Selection and Planning questions measured the students' confidence in choosing a suitable practice destination and preparing for their professional careers. Overall, participants prefer employment in hospital settings both in the short- and long-term aspects of their nursing career. The factors influencing the students' career decisions were classified into three main categories: the clinical environment, educational factors and individual factors. CONCLUSIONS: The nursing curriculum may encourage nursing students to work in some specialties over others. This study provides insight into factors that may promote or inhibit students' career choices and how students may be motivated to pursue the less preferred nursing specialties.

Why do second-cycle medical students choose oncology? A literature overview.

INTRODUCTION: Given the current global cancer epidemic across the world, the need for healthcare professionals in this field is crucial. Little is known about the factors that drive medical students toward oncology. METHOD: We conducted a systematic review of the literature (from 1980 to the present), using several search equations and selecting original articles written in English based on qualitative or quantitative surveys, to understand what motivates medical students to choose oncology. RESULTS: We identified only seven articles that reported quantitative surveys; no qualitative surveys were found. These seven surveys are composed of closed-ended questions and are pragmatic questionnaires based on field knowledge, but without an underlying theory. These studies most often interrogate students already oriented towards oncology. The following five concepts associated with the choice of oncology had the highest recurrence among these seven surveys, which had been conducted in different countries and at various times: interest in cancer management, initiation of the specialty during the 2nd cycle, job opportunities, low working hours, and quality of life. DISCUSSION: The literature on this topic is particularly scarce. No qualitative studies have been published in the English language. The limited data in the literature do not allow us to fully comprehend the problem.

Attitudes towards career choice and general practice: a cross-sectional survey of medical students and residents in Tyrol, Austria.

BACKGROUND: The global primary healthcare workforce is declining, leading to a shortage of general practitioners. Although various educational models aim to increase interest in general practice, effective interventions are limited. The reasons for this low appeal among medical graduates remain unclear. METHODS: This cross-sectional study surveyed medical students' and residents' attitudes towards general practice in Tyrol, Austria. The online questionnaire addressed professional values, general practice-related issues, personal professional intentions, and demographics. Data analysis employed chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression to explore predictors of interest in general practice. RESULTS: The study included 528 students and 103 residents. Key values identified were stable positions, assured income, and work-family reconciliation. General practice was recognised for long-term patient relationships and patient contact, with students attributing more positive work-environmental characteristics and higher reputation to it than residents. Few participants (students: 3.2%, residents: 11.7%) had opted for general practice; about half were considering it as career option. Reasons not to choose general practice were preferences for other specialties, intrinsic characteristics of general practice, workload, insufficient time for the patients, financial pressures, low reputation, and perceived mediocre training quality. Predictors of interest in general practice included perception of independent decision-making, importance of work-family balance (students), better practical experiences in general practice during medical school (students and residents), younger age, and perceiving general practice as offering a promising future (residents). Both groups felt underprepared by medical school and/or general practice training for general practice roles. The attractiveness of specialist medicine over general practice was related to clearer content boundaries, better career opportunities, and higher incomes. CONCLUSIONS: According to these results, measures to improve attractiveness of general practice should focus on (i) high-quality undergraduate education including practical experiences, and (ii) on ensuring professional autonomy, work-family reconciliation, and job stability. Efforts to encourage more graduates to pursue this essential healthcare sector are crucial for strengthening primary healthcare and public health services. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study has not been registered as it did not include a direct medical intervention on human participants.

Effect of morality or capitalist ideology in choosing dentistry as a career in Türkiye: a cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have provided important findings on the profession of dentistry and the motivators for choosing dentistry. This study has attempted to contribute to this accumulation by using a sociocultural perspective and interpreting the relationships among motivators from this perspective in a large Turkish sample. The aim of this study was to investigate what motivates dental students to choose dentistry as a career in Türkiye. METHODS: First-year dental students from different dental schools were included in a descriptive cross-sectional study. The questionnaire included sections covering demographics, motivators and career satisfaction. A total of 919 students from 29 different state dental schools and four private dental schools participated. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, means and standard deviations were used to summarize the sociodemographic information and the distribution of the motivators. Factorial analysis was carried out for the structural status of the questionnaire items. The relationships between the motivators were analyzed using Pearson's correlation. RESULTS: Among the 919 students, 64.2% were female, and 35.8% were male. Half of them chose dentistry after seeing their higher education institution's examination results, while the other half had already considered it a career during their preuniversity years. Communicating with people, artistic skills, and helping others were the main motivators for students to choose dentistry as a career in Türkiye, and students' overall career satisfaction was moderately high. The strongest correlations were between communication with people and benefits (r =.74), between communication with people and helping others (r =.71), between communication with people and artistic skills (r =.66), between artistic skills and benefits (r =.69), between artistic skills and helping others (r =.65), between dental experience and benefits (r =.51), between dental experience and helping others (r =.50), and between benefits and helping others (r =.71). CONCLUSION: Helping others, artistic skills, communicating with people, and benefits were the most important factors motivating dental students to choose a career, and positive relationships were detected between these four factors. This information may help to develop more effective career guidance and mentorship strategies for dental students.

Depression in Final-Year Medical Students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: The Role of Career-Choice Motivation.

OBJECTIVES: Depression in medical students is concerning, potentially fueled by many stressors including career choice-relating stress. Choosing Medicine is a life-long commitment, and low intrinsic motivation or excessive dependence on family can complicate this decision and adding stress throughout their training. This stress intensifies in the final year, as students lacking personal drive struggle to see themselves continuing the career. Given limited studies on this crucial topic in Asia and Vietnam, we explored direct linkage between career choice motivation and depression in final-year medical students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 569 final-year students between June and July 2020. The Vietnamese Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) and 16-item CCM questionnaire were used as survey tools. Univariate analysis was used for descriptive statistics (absolute and relative frequency, mean (M), standard deviation (SD). Multinomial logistic regression models were used to explore the relationship between variables using STATA 5.1. RESULTS: The depression among participants was about 24.6% (PHQ-9 cut-off ≥ 12). No difference in gender was found regarding depression. The most acknowledged motivator is securing employment (M = 4.14, SD = 1.02) and the least is parental wishes (M = 3.17, SD = 1.32). Familial influence on career choice significantly increased odds of having "moderately-severe depression" (OR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.04-1.32) and "severe depression" (OR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.10-1.68), whereas, career-choice motivators including satisfaction (OR = .76, 95% CI .60-.97), self-competence (OR = .80, 95% CI .66-.97) and career success (OR = .84, 95% CI .71-.99) were found to be protective factors for depression. CONCLUSIONS: Roughly a quarter of final-year medical students encountered depression. Occupational security ranked as the primary motivator, with parental wish being the least. Familial influence heightened depression risk, while career prospects, satisfaction and self-efficacy acted as protective factors. Medical career paths should align with intrinsic motivations and personal interests for better mental health outcomes.

Nursing applicants' desire to work in nursing and related factors: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The desire to work in the nursing profession has recently been identified as an important aspect to consider in the selection process of nursing students but very little is known about nursing applicants' or students' desire to work in nursing. AIMS: The study aimed to describe and explain the desire of undergraduate nursing applicants to work in nursing. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study design. METHODS: The Desire to Work in Nursing Instrument was used to collect the data. All nursing applicants (N = 974) who took part in an entrance examination organised in six Universities in October 2018 were eligible to participate. Eight Hundred and Forty-one applicants (response rate 86%, 102 males) participated in the study. Statistical analysis included the use of descriptive statistics and linear regression was used to assess if dependent variables explained the observed outcomes. RESULTS: A strong desire to work in nursing was demonstrated in all the four areas. The most common reason to desire this work was suitability to nursing and the nature of work, and the least common was the career opportunities. Gender, previous education, and a realistic image best explain the desire. CONCLUSIONS: The assessment of desire to work in nursing may assist career choice of nursing applicants, and may enhance recruitment and retention in nursing education. Applicants need to be more aware of the career development possibilities. Further studies are needed to investigate if the desire to work in nursing is different to men than to women to inform recruitment strategies.

What Matters Most: Determinants Associated with the Selection of Medical Residencies in Qatar.

Purpose: There have been several studies into medical student career decision making in occidental countries (eg US, UK), but medical career selection in a Middle Eastern context has not been as well studied. This study aims to explore determinants underpinning medical students' residency choice in Qatar. Patients and methods: During the Fall semester of the 2022-2023 academic year, all (n=358) medical students from the College of Medicine at Qatar University were invited to participate in an online explorative questionnaire about students' career choices and the factors determining their selection. Results: Of the 358 students, 184 responded (51%). Respondents had a mean age of 20 years; the majority were female (73.9%), Qatari (54.3%), unmarried (97.3%), and enrolled in a pre-clerkship year (55.0%). The most important career determinant was specialty-specific factors. The relative importance of other determinants differed by gender and stage of training. Among our respondents, male students were more likely to rate role models and influencers as being important to their choice, while female students and Qatari students overall were more likely to cite societal obligation. Medical students in Qatar seemed to have career preferences in mind upon entry into medical education. Later-year students were more likely to identify the importance of work-life balance and place of practice, but were less likely to rank prestige and income as an important determinant. Conclusion: The results of this baseline study suggest that socioeconomic and cultural context influence medical student career decisions.

Feasibility and acceptability of a primary care mentoring programme for undergraduate students.

Mentoring plays a crucial role in increasing the attractiveness of primary care careers for medical students. Based on a literature review and structured group discussions, the authors developed a primary care mentoring platform centred on undergraduate medical students' needs. All second- to sixth-year students were invited to enrol into the programme by choosing a mentor from an online platform, which was pilot tested during one academic year (2021-2022) with 16 mentors. Fifteen mentees enrolled into the pilot programme. The evaluation assessed the procedures' feasibility as well as the student-centeredness and acceptability of the programme. Mentees completed a quantitative survey evaluating satisfaction and the mentoring relationship's personal and content aspects. Mentors' feedback was collected during focus groups discussing the programme's acceptability and practical aspects. Both mentees and mentors expressed high levels of satisfaction with the programme. Mentees rated their mentoring relationships highly across most aspects. Mentees' content-related needs included postgraduate training, meeting an inspiring person, work-life balance, and questions about running a private practice. Mentors described the programme as a rewarding experience. They enjoyed the flexible structure that allowed them to adapt to the mentees' individual needs. Maintaining the relationship was mostly the mentors' responsibility. Further structured guidance from the programme coordinators was identified as potentially beneficial for future implementation. The findings highlight the feasibility and the advantages of a flexible, student-centred mentoring programme. The programme attracted students interested in primary care from all levels of undergraduate education. Such programmes may contribute to fostering students' interest in primary care careers.

Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and intention to pursue a career in mental health nursing scale.

AIM: To adapt culturally and assess the reliability and validity of the Attitudes, Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavioural Control and Intention to Pursue a Career in Mental Health Nursing (ASPIRE) scale among Chinese nursing students. BACKGROUND: Mental health nurses make up a substantial proportion of the mental health workforce and are pivotal for improving access to professional mental health care. However, a shortage of mental health nurses persists across various countries. Although new nursing graduates have the potential to alleviate the labor shortages, there is currently no standardized tool specifically designed to measure nursing students' intentions to pursue a career in mental health nursing in China. DESIGN: A quantitative and cross-sectional design. METHODS: Following email authorization from the author, the Chinese version of the ASPIRE scale was translated following the cross-cultural adaptation process guidelines established by the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS). A questionnaire survey was conducted among 540 nursing students from three universities in Hunan Province from April 2023 to October 2023. Nine experts were invited to evaluate the content equivalence of each item. Item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability were used to test reliability and validity. RESULTS: The Chinese version of the ASPIRE scale retained 14 items and it has high content validity. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in the correlation between the total scores of the items (P < 0.001). Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the one-factor solution explained 65.82% of the total variance and confirmatory factor analysis results indicated a good fit (CMIN/DF = 2.64, RMSEA = 0.079, GFI = 0.908, IFI = 0.964, SRMR = 0.0326). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.958 and the test-retest coefficient was 0.783. CONCLUSION: The Chinese version of the ASPIRE scale has great reliability and validity and can be used for assessing Chinese nursing students' intention to pursue a career in mental health nursing.

Student nurse retention. Lived experience of mature female students on a UK Bachelor of Nursing (Adult) programme: An interpretative phenomenological analysis.

AIMS: To explore the lived experiences of mature female students undertaking a Bachelor of Nursing (Adult) programme in the UK, to gain insight into the challenges and barriers faced by students and investigate the factors that support students who have considered leaving, to stay and continue with their studies. BACKGROUND: There is a global shortage of nurses and challenges exist in ensuring that enough nurses are available to provide care in the complex and rapidly changing care environments. Initiatives introduced to increase the number of Registered Nurses (RN), include increasing the number of students enrolled on pre-registration nursing programmes. However, the success of this intervention is contingent on the number of students who go on to complete their course. DESIGN: This qualitative study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), which provided a methodological framework and analytical approach to enable an exploration of participants' individual and shared lived experiences. METHODS: Eight female, mature students at the end of their second year of a Bachelor of Nursing (Adult) programme at a Higher Education Institution in South Wales participated in semi-structured, face-to-face interviews, which were analysed idiographically before group-level analysis was undertaken. FINDINGS: The analysis revealed three superordinate themes: 'Ambition to become a Registered Nurse'; 'Jugging Roles' and 'Particular Support Needs for a Particular Student'. CONCLUSION: Each student had a unique history, their past and present social and psychological experiences were multifaceted and complex. These differences resulted in varying degrees of resilience and motivations to continue their studies. These findings are important for ensuring that services develop and provide effective support to maximize retention and, ultimately, increase the number of students entering the RN workforce. PATIENT OF PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution. IMPACT STATEMENT: This research expands on current literature regarding the needs of mature female students, a growing student nurse demographic. Every student had a dynamic set of circumstances and demonstrated that the identification of 'at-risk' students, purely based on demographics or information on a Curriculum Vitae, is problematic and potentially futile. This knowledge could be used to tailor University support systems and inform curriculum development and support systems for maximizing student retention. These findings are important for ensuring that services continue to develop and provide effective support to maximize retention and completion and, ultimately, increase the number of students entering the Nursing and Midwifery Council register.

Would you like to be a general practitioner? Baseline findings of a longitudinal survey among Danish medical trainees.

BACKGROUND: Recruiting and securing primary care physician workforce has been the center of international attention for decades. In Denmark, the number of general practitioners has decreased by 8.5% since 2013. However, a rising population age and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and multimorbidity place an even greater future need for general practitioners in Denmark. The choice of general practice as specialty has been associated with a range of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, however, few studies have examined the recruitment potential that lies within medical trainees' who are undecided about general practice specialization. The aim of this study was, therefore, to explore how medical trainees who are undecided about general practice specialization (GP-positive/undecided) differ from medical trainees who are either committed (GP-committed) or not committed to a general practice career (GP-non-committed) regarding factors related to future work life. METHODS: The present study concerns baseline findings from a longitudinal survey study. An online questionnaire was e-mailed to a national cohort of medical trainees during their transition from under- to postgraduate education. The associations between orientations towards general practice specialization and work-related factors and potential influencing factors, respectively, were analyzed using uni- and multivariable modified Poisson regression models. RESULTS: Of 1,188 invited participants, 461 filled out key study variables concerning specialty preferences and rejections, corresponding to a response rate of 38.8%. We found significant positive associations between GP-positive/undecided orientation and valuing a good work/life balance and the opportunity to organize own working hours when compared to GP-non-committed respondents. Compared to the GP-committed orientations, the GP-positive/undecided orientation was associated with a positive attitude towards technology, working shift hours, and an openness towards several career paths. Across all orientations, undergraduate exposure to the specialties was found to be highly influential on the specialty preferences. CONCLUSION: GP-positive/undecided medical trainees value autonomy over their working hours more than the GP-non-committed, but less than the GP-committed. However, the GP-positive/undecided respondents present more openness to different career opportunities and the use of technology in daily work. We suggest using this knowledge in the planning of recruitment strategies aiming to increase interest in general practice specialization.

How changing work and family demands during COVID-19 (De)motivated academic parents to craft sustainable careers?

BACKGROUND: Covid-19 has introduced many contextual changes into individuals' work and family lives, affecting their career sustainability. Although previous studies have provided evidence for these changes, little is known about how changing contextual demands (de)motivated them to take proactive initiatives for crafting sustainable careers. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore how changing work and family demands of academic parents during Covid-19 affected their career sustainability indicators and career initiatives regarding health, happiness, and productivity. METHODS: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 21 academic parents during the post-lockdown period of Covid-19 in Turkey. We analyzed the qualitative data by using content analysis via MAXQDA software. RESULTS: Results revealed differing career sustainability experiences and initiatives regarding gender roles, career stage, and work/family demands and resources. Notably, women academics with higher contextual demands and lower contextual resources and early-career academics reported relatively adverse experiences concerning their health, happiness, and productivity. Besides, even though early-career academics faced problems with sustaining their career development, they were relatively more oriented to engage in career initiatives, such as reorganizing developmental needs, improving career skills, and seeking career support and guidance. CONCLUSIONS: This study sheds light on the context, time, and person aspects of sustainable careers during Covid-19. Moreover, the study represents one of the first investigations into the proactive initiatives for crafting sustainable careers during the pandemic and provides a deeper insight into the (de)motivators for career proactivity.

How do medical schools influence their students' career choices? A realist evaluation.

INTRODUCTION: The career choices of medical graduates vary widely between medical schools in the UK and elsewhere and are generally not well matched with societal needs. Research has found that experiences in medical school including formal, informal and hidden curricula are important influences. We conducted a realist evaluation of how and why these various social conditions in medical school influence career thinking. METHODS: We interviewed junior doctors at the point of applying for speciality training. We selected purposively for a range of career choices. Participants were asked to describe points during their medical training when they had considered career options and how their thinking had been influenced by their context. Interview transcripts were coded for context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations to test initial theories of how career decisions are made. RESULTS: A total of 26 junior doctors from 12 UK medical schools participated. We found 14 recurring CMO configurations in the data which explained influences on career choice occurring during medical school. DISCUSSION: Our initial theories about career decision-making were refined as follows: It involves a process of testing for fit of potential careers. This process is asymmetric with multiple experiences needed before deciding a career fits ('easing in') but sometimes only a single negative experience needed for a choice to be ruled out. Developing a preference for a speciality aligns with Person-Environment-Fit decision theories. Ruling out a potential career can however be a less thought-through process than rationality-based decision theories would suggest. Testing for fit is facilitated by longer and more authentic undergraduate placements, allocation of and successful completion of tasks, being treated as part of the team and enthusiastic role models. Informal career guidance is more influential than formal. We suggest some implications for medical school programmes.

Perceived stress among dental students and the role of parental influence in career decision-making.

OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to assess perceived stress levels among dental students at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and to explore the influence of parental roles in their decision to pursue dentistry as a potential source of social stress. METHODS: This cross-sectional study employed the validated Dental Environmental Stress (DES) Scale to evaluate perceived stress, and incorporated additional questions to fulfill the research aim. We approached all undergraduate dental students at King Saud University, both male and female, across all academic years, using online channels (such as emails, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc.) and hard copy distribution. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 20, utilizing descriptive and correlation statistics. RESULTS: A total of 326 students participated in the study, with an even distribution of male and female students. Female students reported higher levels of stress compared to their male counterparts across most DES domains. A notable correlation emerged between mean DES scores in certain domains and influence of parents in the decision to pursue dentistry. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that female dental students experience higher stress levels than males in all examined areas, barring social stressors. Furthermore, the study underscores the significant impact of parental involvement in choosing dentistry as a career on students' stress level.