Analysis of the Psychological Factors Faced by the Final Year College Students of China During Job Interviews and While Choosing Careers.

Career choice research has attracted the attention of recruiters and young graduates. The study aims to investigate the psychological factors that influence college students' employment choices. As a result, data for the study were gathered from 250 final-year college students in China via an online questionnaire survey. The study identified the psychological barriers faced by college students during job interviews through interviews with 120 h recruiters. The SPPS tool is used for data analysis. The study identified personal interest, self-efficacy, and self- esteem; social responsibilities; confidence; professional development opportunities; and future orientation as the important psychological factors that influence the career choice of college students. The study also found that the barriers faced by the college students during the interview were anxiety, inferiority complex, cowardice, and pride. Therefore, the study suggests that the college provides job-oriented training for college students' employment choices. The college should take the initiative to provide students with career opportunities and proper training to avoid psychological barriers during interviews.

Reconsidering Pharmacy: We Need to Turn Career Regret into Career Options.

Declining interest in pharmacy as a career is a growing concern. This commentary investigates the factors contributing to career regret among pharmacy graduates, based on data from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy National Graduating Student Survey. We identify 3 key contributing factors: workplace environment, professional identity formation, and marketing of the Doctor of Pharmacy degree. We argue that students observe, in many work environments, a lack of autonomy, repetitive tasks, and unfulfilling work. This leads to diminished job satisfaction and disillusionment. Additionally, marketing tactics and curricular structures can inadvertently contribute to career regret. We propose potential interventions, emphasizing the need for improved working conditions, more versatile roles in pharmacy, and enhanced career development services within colleges/schools of pharmacy. Additional research is needed to fully understand career regret and the steps that academic institutions can proactively take to mitigate career dissatisfaction among their graduates.

Personality Traits and Potential Career Choices Among Medical Students at Sultan Qaboos University: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background Personality plays a vital role in choosing a medical specialty. Despite this, research is scarce on this subject, especially in Oman. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the personality traits of medical students at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Muscat, Oman, and the specialty they wished to undertake after graduation. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. Two hundred and thirty-four medical students completed the Big Five personality questionnaire and were asked what specialty they would like to choose. The specialties were divided into three namely, surgical-oriented, medicine-oriented, and basic medicine. An ANOVA test was used to find any statistically significant correlation between personality traits and the desired specialty. Results The students who chose surgery-oriented specialties had significantly higher scores in the extraversion and openness means (P<0.05) than the students who opted for medicine-oriented specialties and basic medicine. The students who chose basic medicine had significantly higher scores in the neuroticism means (P<0.05) than the other groups. Conclusion The students who chose surgery-oriented specialties were more likely to be highly extraverted and open, while the medical students who chose basic medicine were more likely to have higher neuroticism levels when compared with the other groups. This study indicates that there is a correlation between personality traits and desired specialty. Further studies should be done to investigate if these personality traits remained similar after graduation.

The early determinants of career choices for medical students following an obstetrics and gynaecology placement: Mixed methods study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the impact of attending a clinical placement in considering a career in obstetrics and gynaecology. DESIGN: Mixed methods study. SETTING: London Medical School. POPULATION: Fifth year medical students attending a clinical placement in obstetrics and gynaecology. METHODS: Between January 2021 and January 2022, questionnaires were used and semi-structured focus groups conducted, which were audio-recorded. Descriptive statistics were conducted and a framework analysis on transcribed focus groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The impact of the clinical placement on career choice. RESULTS: Six main themes were identified from the analysis; three contributing to considering a career in obstetrics and gynaecology; pregnancy is not an illness, extraordinary experience of observing childbirth and variable specialty and three themes emerged contributing to not considering a career; lack of work-life balance, high stakes specialty and the emotional toll. Even at an undergraduate level, medical students exhibited concerns about the long-term feasibility of achieving work-life balance and avoiding professional burnout, which was partly attributed to the responsibility of looking after both the woman and their baby. CONCLUSIONS: Obstetrics and gynaecology is perceived as an exciting and variable speciality by medical students. Students' experiences on the labour ward during a clinical placement appear to contribute to the consideration of a career in obstetrics and gynaecology. Students should be given opportunities to discuss their concerns about obstetrics, particularly over the potential psychological impact of adverse/traumatic birth events. It is crucial to provide a realistic introduction to obstetrics, to recruit enthusiastic junior doctors who will be resilient to the pressures of the speciality, to avoid burnout and minimise attrition rates.

Identifying factors influencing orthodontic residency program selection.

PURPOSE: The desirability of Orthodontic Residency remains high today relative to the past 30 years. This investigation seeks to re-assess factors influencing Orthodontic Residency program selection amidst contemporary challenges and changes, including increasing student debt, reduced residency stipends, and shifting practice models. METHODS: This mixed-methods study consisted of interviews (qualitative) and surveys (quantitative). Fifteen final-year dental students and first-year orthodontic residents were interviewed one-on-one following a topic guide and then transcripts were analyzed using MAXQDA2022 to identify values, factors, and influences related to program selection and ranking. Qualitative findings and previous studies provided the basis for a survey distributed to residency applicants in 2020-22. Data were analyzed with bivariate and descriptive statistics with stratification by debt group. RESULTS: Interviews (N = 15) elevated the importance of location, interview experience, program cost, and clinical education. Surveys (N = 239) identified the most desirable factors for program selection: satisfied residents, strong clinical training with multiple techniques, good interview impressions, low cost, high patient numbers, a strong reputation, and good clinical facilities with new technology. Less desirable factors include programs that are hospital-based, certificate-only, research-intensive, and require considerable after-hours work. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical education and interview experiences are key for residency selection, consistent with prior studies, though program cost has grown in importance. Findings can help guide orthodontic programs in recruiting applicants and suggest a need to limit educational costs.

Impact of Dental Institutions' Values on Students' Intent to Practice in Underserved Communities: A Cross-sectional Study.

AIM: To evaluate how an institution's values can impact students' intent to practice in underserved areas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The values of 71 accredited dental schools in the United States were searched and tabulated. The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) survey results were used to tabulate the desire to serve the underserved population before entering dental school and upon graduation. Additionally, responses on the total amount of educational debt on graduation was compiled for LLUSD and all other dental schools. Fisher's exact test was performed to compare the difference between the two cohorts and Wilcoxon test was used to assess difference within the groups. Tests were conducted at an alpha level of 0.05 with SAS v 9.1.3 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). RESULTS: The top five values of US dental institutions based on frequency were excellence, diversity/inclusion, integrity, innovation, and respect. There was no statistically significant difference between LLUSD and all other dental schools in their desire to serve the underserved community upon graduation (p > 0.05, in all instances). Overall, there was a trend that upon graduation, the desire to serve the underserved had less impact on students' decision-making on their career choices. This drop in the desire to serve the underserved was statistically significant within both cohorts in the year 2021 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Dental institutions should focus on better understanding of how their values impact their students' career choices so that they can develop strategies to better align their values with the mission of addressing the dentist shortage in underserved areas. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Dental institutions' values play a major role in impacting students' career choices upon graduation and should be assessed using metrics that are measurable.

A review of the career choices of Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University pharmacy graduates from 2015 to 2019 – A pilot study

Introduction: The pharmacy profession is dynamic; continually expanding in new directions, offering interdisciplinary professional education and work- based learning opportunities. Many factors influence individual choices to study pharmacy and progression within the various sectors of pharmacy. Objectives: To review the career paths of Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences pharmacy graduates from the year 2015 to 2019, internship and community service placements and to explore current employment status. Methods: A descriptive and quantitative study design was followed using an online questionnaire that was originally developed using Google Forms®. The study sample included pharmacy graduates from 2015 to 2019. Researchers captured data from the questionnaires on Microsoft Office Excel™ (2016) spreadsheets. Key findings: The majority (78.1%) of the graduates are employed full time with only 5% unemployed. Most of the graduates felt well prepared for hospital pharmacy (64.2%) by the BPharm programmed offered at SMU with only a few graduates (5.3%) who felt that they were prepared for industrial pharmacy. It was also noted that 70.3% of the graduates are still at the operational level and only 4.4% are in executive positions. Recommendations and Conclusions: The response rate can be improved by allowing more time for graduates to respond. Graduates are advised to update their contact details on the SAPC register to facilitate communication with them. The pilot study demonstrated that the SMU School of Pharmacy had several graduates who are employed in the public sector as they felt best prepared for hospital pharmacy practice compared to any other sector (AU)

How Do Pharmacy Students Make Career Choices in Genomics? Gender and Other Key Determinants of Pharmacy Senior Students' Intentions to Pursue Postgraduate Training in Pharmacogenomics.

Pharmacists play a pivotal role in pharmacogenomic (PGx) implementation in clinical practice, and their university education is considered a strong driver in holding favorable intentions toward PGx adoption. Using a survey developed based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study aimed to evaluate the determinants of senior pharmacy students' intentions to pursue postgraduate training in PGx and personalized medicine (PM), and with an eye to propose interventions to inform pharmacy students' career choices in the field. Students manifested considerably favorable attitudes toward PGx clinical practice and had acquired a relatively satisfactory level of knowledge. However, they conceded of having a hardly moderate level of confidence in PGx clinical application, and claimed to be moderately satisfied with their PGx training. Interestingly, students alleged to have a relatively limited interest to pursue postgraduate training studies in PGx and PM. Gender was a key and significant demographic moderator of the students' intentions to pursue postgraduate training in PGx and PM. We found that the students' attitudes exerted a strong positive impact on intentions for future PGx training, while self-confidence and training satisfaction had a moderate positive effect, respectively. We propose a set of key interventions that include, inter alia, the update of existing pharmacy curricula and the promotion of interdisciplinary collaborations with other health professionals, to reinforce the pharmacists' role in PM and PGx implementation in clinical practice. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study using the TPB to identify the role of certain factors such as gender, attitudes, self-confidence, and training satisfaction on the final-year pharmacy undergraduate students' intentions to pursue PGx-related postgraduate studies in the future.

A Qualitative Study on Trainees' Perspective on the Benefits of Maternal and Child Health Pipeline Training Programs.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the benefits of the Maternal and Child Health Pipeline Training Program (MCHPTP) to the program participants. The MCHPTP exposes undergraduate students to a series of activities designed to introduce them to career choices in health or health-related professions, which serve maternal and child health populations. A qualitative research interview design was utilized to conduct this study. Data were collected from 15 undergraduate trainees at six Maternal and Child Health Pipeline Training Programs from colleges and universities across the U.S. The results showed that all the trainees would recommend the MCHPTP to other students, they were satisfied with their career interests, and there were many benefits of the MCHPTP.

Afghan medical students' perceptions, and experiences of their medical education and their professional intentions: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Numerous challenges have crippled the Afghan healthcare system on individual, organizational, and societal levels. The Afghans have acknowledged that an evidence-based perspective is paramount to enhancing medical training capacities across the country, which may, in turn, best ensure appointing highly competent authorities to address health system problems on such multiple levels. OBJECTIVES: This study assessed current Afghan senior medical students' perceptions, and experiences of their medical education and their future professional intentions. METHODS: We conducted this cross-sectional study at seven public and private Afghan medical institutes from March to April 2022. We invited 665 senior medical students through an anonymous survey using the Google survey online forms via social-media platforms, such as WhatsApp Messenger. Descriptive statistics were employed for the data analyses. RESULTS: The mean age (± SD) of the students was 23.7 (± 2.2) years and males constituted 79.9% (510) of the study sample. About 22.6% of them rated their medical training as excellent, and nearly a third of them (37%) said that it is good. Nearly half (48.7%) of the students would prefer to stay in Afghanistan. The leading motives for moving overseas were to obtain more advanced and quality education (69.9%), and a decent personal life (43.9%). Nearly two-thirds (67.4%) of them asserted that current political and armed conflicts in Afghanistan may have influenced their professional choices. CONCLUSION: This study epitomizes that the quality of medical education in Afghanistan has room for growth and development to meet the standards set on regional and global grounds.

Career decisions, training priorities, and perceived challenges for anesthesiology residents in the United States.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study sought to understand the timing and important factors identified by residents regarding their decision to pursue a career in anesthesiology, training areas deemed important to their future success, perceived greatest challenges facing the profession of anesthesiology, and their post-residency plans. DESIGN: The American Board of Anesthesiology administered voluntary, anonymous, repeated cross-sectional surveys to residents who began clinical anesthesia training in the U.S. from 2013 to 2016 and were subsequently followed up yearly until the completion of their residency. The analyses included data from 12 surveys (4 cohorts from clinical anesthesia years 1 to 3), including multiple-choice questions, rankings, Likert scales, and free text responses. Free responses were analyzed using an iterative inductive coding process to determine the main themes. MAIN RESULTS: The overall response rate was 36% (6480 responses to 17,793 invitations). Forty-five percent of residents chose anesthesiology during the 3rd year of medical school. "Nature of the clinical practice of anesthesiology" was the most important factor influencing their decision (average ranking of 5.93 out of 8 factors, 1 [least important] to 8 [most important]), followed by "ability to use pharmacology to acutely manipulate physiology" (5.75) and "favorable lifestyle" (5.22). "Practice management" and "political advocacy for anesthesiologists" (average rating 4.46 and 4.42, respectively, on a scale of 1 [very unimportant] to 5 [very important]) were considered the most important non-traditional training areas, followed by "anesthesiologists as leaders of the perioperative surgical home" (4.32), "structure and financing of the healthcare system" (4.27), and "principles of quality improvement" (4.26). Three out of 5 residents desired to pursue a fellowship; pain medicine, pediatric anesthesiology, and cardiac anesthesiology were the most popular choices, each accounting for approximately 20% of prospective fellows. Perceived greatest challenges facing the profession of anesthesiology included workforce competition from non-physician anesthesia providers and lack of advocacy for anesthesiologist values (referenced by 96% of respondents), changes and uncertainty in healthcare systems (30%), and personal challenges such as psychological well-being (3%). CONCLUSIONS: Most residents identified anesthesiology as their career choice during medical school. Interest in non-traditional subjects and fellowship training was common. Competition from non-physician providers, healthcare system changes, and compromised psychological well-being were perceived concerns.

Australian community pharmacists' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: Community pharmacists have played an important role in providing services for their community during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the purpose is to present the attitudes and experiences of Australian pharmacists regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A qualitative semi-structured interview explored community pharmacist experiences during the initial COVID-19 lockdown. Thematic analysis of transcribed interviews was conducted to investigate the experiences of pharmacists. KEY FINDINGS: Interviews were conducted with 15 pharmacists from different regional areas and states of Australia. In the study, five main themes were developed: COVID-19 practice complications; pharmacy practice changes; difficult patient interactions; worsened mental well-being and coping strategies; and career dissatisfaction. Pharmacists stated that an increase in workload, shortage of supplies and frequent COVID-19 management updates increased pressure on their duties. The negative customer interactions during COVID-19 lockdown adversely affected some pharmacists' mental health and career satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Community pharmacists are subject to multiple factors affecting their practice, impairing their mental well-being and triggering them to reconsider their career choice. It is important to provide support to community pharmacists to help improve their well-being and workplace satisfaction.

Factors which Influence Postgraduate Career Choice among Final-Year Medical Students.

BACKGROUND: Non-communicable disease incidence is rising amidst an increasing burden of poor access to surgical resources in "low-and middle-income countries. This calls for an increasing number of surgeons. However, intake into surgical residency training" programmes is reducing due to the decreasing number of applications. This paper looks at the factors which determine postgraduate career choices in order to guide training programme designs and arouse more interest in surgically related "specialties." MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online questionnaire was sent to the final year medical students' class online social media platform yearly from 2016 to 2020 prospectively. Completed questionnaire forms were returned online. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Age, sex, rating of the surgical clerkship programme, and factors influencing postgraduate uptake were analyzed. All students below the final year were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 118 completed forms were received. The ages were 21 - 36 years (Mean 24.96±2.74). Males were 70 (59.3%) and females were 48 (40.7%). Overall, all the respondents (100.0%) scored the clerkship programme above average. Only 35 (29.7%) respondents were interested in undertaking a postgraduate course related to general surgery and its subspecialties. The factors which influenced the respondents' career choices were personal satisfaction, affluence, prestige, better patient outcomes, the diligence of lecturers, the need to have more time for one's self, less stress, and the best clerkship experience. CONCLUSION: The major factors found to influence career choices include personal satisfaction, affluence, prestige, better patient outcomes, the diligence of lecturers, the need to have more time to one's self, less stress, and the best clerkship experience. Age and year of graduation do not significantly influence postgraduate career choice.

CONTEXTE: L'incidence des maladies non transmissibles augmente dans un contexte où l'accès aux ressources chirurgicales est de plus en plus difficile dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire. dans les pays à r evenus faibles et moyens. Cette situation nécessite un nombre croissant de chirurgiens. Toutefois, le nombre de candidatures aux programmes de résidence en chirurgie diminue en raison de la baisse du nombre de demandes d'admission. Ce document examine les facteurs qui déterminent les choix de carrière des diplômés dans les spécialités liées à la chirurgie afin d'orienter la conception des programmes de formation et de susciter davantage d'intérêt pour les spécialités liées à la chirurgie. MATÉRIELS ET MÉTHODES: Un questionnaire en ligne a été envoyé à la plateforme de médias sociaux en ligne de la classe des étudiants en médecine de dernière année chaque année de 2016 à 2020 de manière prospective. Les formulaires de questionnaire complétés ont été renvoyés en ligne. Les données ont été analysées à l'aide du logiciel SPSS version 21. L'âge, le sexe, l'évaluation du programme d'externat chirurgical, les facteurs influençant la participation au troisième cycle ont été analysés. Tous les étudiants en dessous de la dernière année ont été exclus. RÉSULTATS: Un total de 118 formulaires complétés ont été reçus. Les étudiants étaient âgés de 21 à 36 ans (moyenne 24,96±2,74). Les hommes étaient 70 (59,3%) et les femmes 48 (40,7%). Dans l'ensemble, toutes les personnes interrogées (100,0 %) ont attribué au programme d'externat une note supérieure à la moyenne. Seuls 35 (29,7 %) des répondants étaient intéressés par un cours de troisième cycle lié à la chirurgie générale et à ses sous-spécialités. Les facteurs qui ont influencé les choix de carrière des répondants sont la satisfaction personnelle, la richesse, le prestige, les meilleurs résultats pour les patients, la diligence des enseignants, le besoin d'avoir plus de temps pour soi, moins de stress et la meilleure expérience d'externat. CONCLUSION: Les principaux facteurs qui influencent les choix de carrière sont la satisfaction personnelle, la richesse, le prestige, les meilleurs résultats pour les patients, la diligence des enseignants, le besoin de consacrer plus de temps à soi-même, moins de stress et la meilleure expérience d'externat. L'âge et l'année d'obtention du diplôme n'ont pas d'influence significative sur le choix de la carrière postuniversitaire. Mots-clés: Choix de carrière, Étudiants en médecine, Formation chirurgicale, Formation en résidence.

Understanding registered nurses' career choices in home care services: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The anticipated growth in number of older people with long-term health problems is associated with a greater need for registered nurses. Home care services needs enough nurses that can deliver high quality services in patients' homes. This article improves our understanding of nurses' career choices in home care services. METHODS: A qualitative study using individual semi-structured interviews with 20 registered nurses working in home care services. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and thematically analyzed. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in three themes emphasizing the importance of multiple stakeholders and contextual factors, fit with nurses' private life, and meaning of work. The results offer important insights that can be used to improve organizational policy and HR practices to sustain a workforce of registered nurses in home care services. CONCLUSION: The results illustrate the importance of having a whole life perspective to understand nurses' career choices, and how nurses' career preferences changes over time.

The stress, satisfaction and fulfilment of early career pharmacists - a qualitative analysis of a survey on their professional and personal lives.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine and develop a better understanding of (1) the factors that affect the stress of both their professional and personal lives, (2) the aspects of professional and personal life that affect their satisfaction and fulfilment and (3) what they need to achieve satisfaction and fulfilment in their professional and personal lives. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire contained 8 questions designed to collect qualitative data on the factors affecting the stress, satisfaction and fulfilment in the professional and personal lives of early career pharmacists (ECPs). Questionnaire responses were analysed using a qualitative content analysis approach and themes describing influential factors were developed. KEY FINDINGS: Some of the factors that contribute to the stress, satisfaction and fulfilment of ECPs were identified. The stressors identified include the workplace environment and relationships with colleagues, the demands of a pharmacist career, the lack of career advancement pathways, job insecurity, relationships and their weaknesses. Factors contributing to satisfaction and fulfilment included supportive work environments and relationships, being appreciated and making a difference, growth, supportive relationships and self-care. CONCLUSIONS: Supporting the well-being of ECPs is important for a resilient, engaged and effective pharmacy workforce. Key interventions include eliminating job insecurity, establishing clear career pathways, improving work environments and relationships and investing in the development of clinical, technical, communication and managerial skills.

Exploring migration intention among registered pharmacists in Kerala: a mixed-methods study.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the intention to migrate among pharmacists in Kerala and explored the factors driving pharmacist migration in Kerala. METHODS: A sequential mixed-methods study was carried out to explore the intention to migrate among pharmacists in Kerala, India. A survey of 256 registered pharmacists and in-depth interviews with 15 pharmacists having high migration intentions were undertaken. Quantitative data were analysed employing univariate approaches and binary logistic regression. Qualitative data were analysed employing thematic analysis. KEY FINDINGS: About 44.5% (n = 114) of pharmacists expressed a high intention to migrate. Younger age of up to 30 years (AOR = 8.31, 95% CI = 2.24-30.82), more opportunities abroad (AOR = 4.28, 95% CI = 1.87-9.80), better salaries (AOR = 2.48, 95% CI = 1.04-5.95) and a general negative outlook towards a pharmacy career in Kerala (AOR = 2.83, 95% CI = 1.22-6.56) predicted a high level of intention to migrate among pharmacists. Lower incomes, working conditions, respect and recognition in the society, professional conflict and social connections were observed to be major push factors influencing pharmacists' migration intentions. CONCLUSIONS: Just under half of the registered pharmacists in Kerala has a high intention to migrate abroad. Economic factors, workplace factors, lack of opportunities, social status and so on, were influencers of the intention to migrate among pharmacists. Ensuring implementation of equitable wage policies, preventing unlicensed pharmacy practice, improving societal awareness and providing clear job roles for pharmacists with PharmD and MPharm degrees are needed.

Career Choices and Experiences in Role Transition: A Multistate Survey of Pediatric-Focused Hospital-Based Nurse Practitioners.

INTRODUCTION: We examined factors influencing pediatric hospital-based APPs' career decisions and described the transition to practice experiences. METHOD: We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive electronic survey using a novel instrument to examine APP career decisions and transition to practice experiences among APPs in four Southeastern children's hospitals. RESULTS: There were 158 respondents composed of family nurse practitioners (NPs) (30%), primary care pediatric NPs (24%), and acute care pediatric NPs (18%). APPs chose their career to further their education (46%) and because of interest in pediatrics (18%). Most APPs had experience in pediatrics on APP graduation and were well prepared for the role (47%) and to care for pediatric patients (56%). Nearly two-thirds of APPs had an orientation. DISCUSSION: Early exposure to pediatrics influenced APP career choices and increased career preparedness. Although most APPs had an orientation, future studies should assess the impact of orientation on patient, professional, and organizational outcomes.

Student loan debt and the career choices of college graduates with majors in the arts.

This study looks to test the impact of student loan debt on the career choices of college graduates with majors in the arts in the USA. As earnings are on average lower and more variable for arts graduates when compared to graduates of many other fields, I hypothesize that student loan debt will decrease the likelihood arts graduates will work in jobs related to their major fields of study. National Survey of College Graduates data is used to test this hypothesis. I find that for arts graduates, owing on student debt decreases the likelihood of working in jobs closely related to their major fields by over 25% and decreases the likelihood they work as artists by over 30%. For all college graduates, the negative impact of student debt on working in closely related jobs to their major fields is only 3%. Student debt may have potential distributional impacts on who works as artists, as Black and Hispanic graduates and those whose parents did not attend college are more likely to have student debt and less likely to be working in jobs closely related to their major field of study. Policies that help to alleviate the debt burden on arts graduates, like debt relief, could help to mitigate these negative distributional impacts.

What do Turkish, Spanish, and Pakistani medical students value in specialty training positions? A discrete choice experiment.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to find out specialty training preferences of senior medical students from three medical schools in Turkey, Spain, and Pakistan. METHODS: A Discrete Choice Experiment was carried out using an electronic form for students in three countries in 2021-2022 term. Each choice set in the form consisted of two hypothetical specialty training positions. The attributes were location, earnings, working conditions, personal perspective, quality of education, probability of malpractice, and prestige. Conditional logit model was used to estimate participants' preferences and "willingness to accept" values. RESULTS: The most valued attribute was "personal perspective on specialty area" for Turkish and Spanish students, while this attribute was not meaningful for Pakistani students. Turkish students needed a 204% of change in their income for a swap between the specialty that they like and not like. This tradeoff necessitated a 300% change for Spanish students. The most valued attribute for Pakistani students, which was "working conditions", necessitated a 97% increase in income to switch from working in good conditions to working in poor conditions. CONCLUSION: In this first multinational DCE study in the medical education literature, we found the preferences of medical students in Turkey, Spain, and Pakistan are affected to various extents by several factors.