The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students' specialty preferences in Turkey: a cross-sectional study

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the deaths of thousands of physicians, especially in high-risk fields with very close patient contact. This study investigated the impact of the pandemic on the specialty preferences of senior medical students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among sixth-year students at the Gaziantep University Faculty of Medicine between October and November 2021. Students were invited to participate anonymously in an online survey containing 15 questions regarding student characteristics and specialization preferences. Among the 229 students who participated, 31% reported having contracted COVID-19, and 22.7% reported that at least one family member/relative had died from the disease. As a result of the pandemic, 50.2% of students reported a decreased desire to become physicians, 44.5% reported no change, and 5.2% reported an increased desire. Approximately one-third (30.1%) stated that the pandemic had influenced their specialty preferences. In terms of physical contact with patients, 41% of students preferred specialties considered "somewhat distant", whereas 10.9% preferred those considered "very distant". Overall, the findings suggested that more than half of the students avoided selecting specialties with a high risk of COVID-19 exposure and close patient contact as their first choice.