RURAL OBSTACLES AND CAREER ANXIETIES: VOCATIONAL CONCERNS AMONG MEDICAL INTERNS

Medical students face a multitude of challenges including rigorous exams, exposure to diseases and death, and the stress and anxiety associated with preparing for the Medical Specialty Exam (MSE). We aimed to determine what are the primary reasons for vocational future concerns among intern doctors, and are there gender differences in the causes and levels of the concerns. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Medicine between July 2019 and March 2020, and 148 interns whose informed consent was obtained were included in the study. The data were collected by 5-point Likert type scale for interns' future concerns, consisted of 15 items, and 3 subdimensions. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.89. Of the 148 participants with a mean age of 23.9 years, 43.9% were male, and 56.1% were female. The main reasons for concern were "inability to prepare for the medical specialty exam (68%)" and "failure to pass the MSE (58%)". These had been followed by concerns about “compulsory service in the eastern regions", “dealing with medical emergencies”, and other professional incompetence. Few interns reported that they were worried about being unemployed (13%). We determined that the vocational concerns of the females were significantly higher than the males, especially about working in the eastern regions, medical emergencies, and clinical skills (p