Objective: To study the factors for choosing residency training programs of medical students.
Material and Method: Cross-sectional study was conducted to survey all the sixth year medical students, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University in 2015 and 2016. Questionnaires for demographic data and factors for choosing residency training programs were used. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and chi-square were used to analyze the data.
Results: There were 275 medical students (69.9%) who completed the questionnaires. Of the medical students, 56.0% were female; mean age was 23.5 years old. The top three residency training programs chosen were: internal medicine, surgery, and pediatrics (15.6%, 14.2%, and 13.8%). Factors for choosing residency training programs were individual interest (73.5%), impression of staff role models and jobs, the patients of these departments, and the experience gained before choosing.
Conclusion: Medical students chose the top three residency training programs: internal medicine, surgery and pediatric. The factors for choosing residency training were individual interest.