Canadian medical student interest in general practice and the specialties.

The interest of 1900 Canadian medical students in the various fields of medical practice was measured by a questionnaire. The students were asked to rank the various fields in order of their interest in them. It was found that general practice, internal medicine and surgery were the fields which consistently captured most interest among the students. Few students ranked dermatology, administration, teaching and research in the first three ranks.Striking differences in the interest preferences of male and female students were demonstrated, with the women ranking pediatrics and psychiatry higher than the men. Significantly more men, however, expressed a prime interest in surgery.Interest in general practice increases with the senior years in medical school, but it was shown that this increase is associated with marital status and with the number of children rather than with the year of training alone.Interest in the fields of medical practice varied between medical schools, with general practice ranking highest at British Columbia and relatively low at McGill and Manitoba. Significant differences between the students of the schools were displayed in the case of neurology, obstetrics, pediatrics and psychiatry.