Health Profession Students' Attitudes toward Their Field of Study and Future Career: A Systematic Review

Document Type : Systematic Review

Authors

1 Professor of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Chairman of the Supreme Council for Medical Science Planning, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran.

2 Professor Of Community Medicine, Department Community Medicine , Faculty of Medicine, Ziaeian Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor of Business Management, Payame Noor University, Iran AND Department of Business Administration of Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

4 Associate Professor Of Organic Chemistry, Department Medical Nanotechnology , School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

5 Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/meb.2024.451182.1091

Abstract

Introduction: Increasing numbers of medical sciences graduates is counted to be one of the problems in the society, so that there is concerning about their fields and future careers among them. This study aimed to review the attitude of Iranian health profession students toward their field of study and future career.

Materials and Methods: In this systematic review, a search of online databases (Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, SID, CIVILICA, and Google Scholar search engine) was conducted for relevant studies up to December 2023. The quality of the selected studies was evaluated using the STROBE checklist.

Results: A total of 27 studies were included (with 4805 individuals). The highest level of satisfaction with the field of study was related to dental and medical students and the lowest level of interest was related to health profession students and paramedical students (p<0.05). Among the health profession, the environmental health and healthcare management students had most negative attitude towards the field of study and Public health students had most negative attitude towards career future than other health students. There was a significant correlation between students attitude towards field of study and their attitude towards future career (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Health profession students especially the environmental health and healthcare management students had a negative attitude towards their field of study and public health students had a negative attitude toward their future careers. So, standard evaluations and proper planning should be carried out based on the future vision for the acceptance of these fields in universities, as well as empowering health profession students in entrepreneurship to create self-employment, should be considered by the authorities.

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