WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

*Efu M. E., Ojo B. A., Anefu G. O.

ABSTRACT

Background: The word anaesthesia is from the Greek words = an + aesthesis: without feeling. There is a staggering lack of medical manpower in anesthesia in developing nations is spite of its strategic role in modern medicine. Choosing a career is a complex exercise and maybe influenced by several factors. It is imperative to study these factors in order to plan future recruitment strategies, in a specialty which is reported as an unappealing choice for the medical students both in developing and developed countries. This study was conducted to determine career choice of these prospective specialists with emphasis on anesthesia. Methodology: This study was conducted among fifth and final year students of the College of Health Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria by the use of questionnaire. The class representatives of the respective classes administered the questionnaires, collected them at their completion and submitted them to members of the study team. Results: Eight one respondents representing 89.1% were aged between 21 and 30 years. There were 57 male respondents making up 62.6% of the study population and 34 female respondents representing 37.4% of the study population. Fifty-five of the respondents were in 500 level making up 49.5%, while 46 respondents were in the final year representing 50.5% of the study population. The commonest discipline preferred by the students surveyed were Surgery with 28 (30.8%), Internal medicine 20 (22.2%) and Obstetrics & Gynecology 11 (12.1%). Anesthesia, Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine got 7 (7.7%) each. A total of 113 responses were recorded with regards to the factors influencing choice of career. Of these, natural interest accounted for 49 responses making up 34.4%, while job satisfaction, personal convenience and role modeling by senior colleagues accounted for 19 (16.8%), 14 (12.4%) and 12 (10.6%) responses respectively. Sixty-four respondents believed that Anesthesia is interesting and important accounting for 70.3% of the study group. A total of 121 responses were obtained regarding how teaching of anesthesia can be improved. Of these, the need for more practical sessions accounted for 34 responses making up 35.5%. Conclusion: Anesthesia appears to be gaining ground as a career amongst prospective specialists. Nevertheless, it still lags behind traditional specialties such as surgery, internal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology. Much is still required to be done by way of adequately exposing undergraduates to the discipline.