Graduate medical students' perception of obstetrics and gynaecology as a future career specialty

The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of graduate-entry medical students of obstetrics and gynaecology as a specialty, in order to understand how to increase its appeal to them, and therefore enhance recruitment to the specialty. A total of 90 questionnaires were returned out of 145 questionnaires distributed to years 2 and 4 graduate-entry medical students (62% response rate). Although fewer than 4% of respondents are considering the specialty as their career choice, more than half of the respondents would consider the specialty as a second option, which shows that there is room to persuade them to have a second look. Gender was the only factor that significantly affected views regarding obstetrics and gynaecology. There is a need for more information about the specialty and its training opportunities and exposure to areas of special interest and subspecialisation, as well as role models, rather than focussing on labour ward in timetables. Areas of apprehension about the specialty, such as the risk of litigation, need to be aired and addressed through career days, as well as formal tutorials within teaching programmes.