Anticipated specialties and influencing factors among final year medical students in a Nigerian University

Objectives: the study aimed at determining final year medical students’ anticipated specialty choices, the factors they consider important in choosing a specialty and the interrelationship between these variables. methodology: in a descriptive cross-sectional survey, questions on specialty preferences and influencing factors were asked, using structured self-administered questionnaires. results: the specialty preferences included: surgery (50.7%), obstetrics and gynaecology (43.9%), paediatrics (20.6%), community health (17.6%) and adult medicine (14.5%). the proportions of preferred specialties did not ‘fit’ those of recent graduates of the national postgraduate medical college (p=0.00). the major influencing factors were personal interest (67.2%), potential for high income (22.0%) and perceived benefit to the society (14.9%). potential for high income was a major factor associated with all the specialties except community health. personal interest was a major factor associated with all the specialties except anaesthesia. conclusion: the findings call for career education and counselling to empower students in specialty choice decisions. they also provide a basis for systematic and proportionate manpower development in medical specialties by relevant stakeholders in order to meet personal and national needs. the study indicates opportunities for further research.