The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the career choice of medicine: A cross-sectional study amongst pre-medical students in Pakistan.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the lives of healthcare workers due to the frontline nature of their work. Their hard work and sacrifice have forged new perceptions of healthcare workers. These changes may potentially influence students' interest in medicine. This study explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected premedical students' decisions to pursue medicine as a career.

Methods

A cross-sectional study using a self-designed online questionnaire was carried out amongst pre-medical students across Pakistan.

Results

A total of 1695 students from 93 public and private schools filled in the survey. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly more pre-medical students want to pursue medicine (60.7%-62.9%) and less are unsure (

SUBMITTER: Saleh R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9357277 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature