Prevalence of Career Indecision and Factors Influencing it among Medical Students and Interns in Oman
Authors:
Ali Abdullah Al Ajmi,
Fatma Salim Al Kharusi,
Aisha Al Khamisi
Aim and objectives: Career indecision (CI) is a broad term refers to the uncertainty and difficulty of decision- making of the future career among junior professionals. This study aims primarily to estimate the prevalence of CI among senior medical students and medical interns in Oman. Secondly, it assesses the association of socio-demographics factors influencing it. Finally, it examines the association between participation in career development activities and CI among them during the academic year of 2022-2023. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using anonymous self-administered questionnaire in English language. We used a 21-item Career Factors Inventory (CFI) to determine CI score. CI scores were further classified to low-level CI (score 27-71) and high-level CI (score 72-105). Results: Total number of participants was 161. The minimum sample size calculated was 153 participants for 95% confidence interval. Unpaired t test and ANOVA test were used to determine association. The results showed the prevalence of high-level CI is 63.4% (95% CI 55.4% - 70.8%) among the participants. Participants with one of their parents in healthcare professions and those who did not participate in career development activities have high CI scores with P-value 0.002 and 0.022 respectively. Moreover, participants younger than 25 years of age in comparison to older participants had higher Need for Self-Knowledge (NSK) scores (p-value 0.018). Conclusion: Study participants showed high prevalence of high-level CI among senior medical students and medical interns in Oman. Few factors were found to be statistically associated, especially participation in career development activities. Further studies are recommended to investigate the causality of high CI levels among junior professionals in Oman and the contributing factors. Curricular and extra-curricular career development activities and counselling may improve CI and reduce its burden.
Keywords: Prevalence, Career indecision (CI), Career Factors Inventory (CFI), Senior medical student, Medical interns, Oman.
Authors
Correspondence to:
Ali Abdullah Al Ajmi , Oman - Oman Medical Specialty Board Ali96071@gmail.com
Publication history:
Received 13 Mar 2024
Accepted 13 Mar 2024
Published online 20 May 2024
Ajmi AAA, Kharusi FSA, Khamisi AA. Prevalence of Career Indecision and Factors Influencing it among Medical Students and Interns in Oman. SJEMed. 2024; 5(Supplement 1): S49-S49. doi:
10.24911/SJEMed.72-1710348619
Ajmi AAA, Kharusi FSA, Khamisi AA. Prevalence of Career Indecision and Factors Influencing it among Medical Students and Interns in Oman. https://sjemed.com/?mno=194220 [Access: February 05, 2025]. doi:
10.24911/SJEMed.72-1710348619
Ajmi AAA, Kharusi FSA, Khamisi AA. Prevalence of Career Indecision and Factors Influencing it among Medical Students and Interns in Oman. SJEMed. 2024; 5(Supplement 1): S49-S49. doi:
10.24911/SJEMed.72-1710348619
Ajmi AAA, Kharusi FSA, Khamisi AA. Prevalence of Career Indecision and Factors Influencing it among Medical Students and Interns in Oman. SJEMed. (2024), [cited February 05, 2025]; 5(Supplement 1): S49-S49. doi:
10.24911/SJEMed.72-1710348619
Ajmi, A. A. A., Kharusi, . F. S. A. & Khamisi, . A. A. (2024) Prevalence of Career Indecision and Factors Influencing it among Medical Students and Interns in Oman. SJEMed, 5 (Supplement 1), S49-S49. doi:
10.24911/SJEMed.72-1710348619
Ajmi, Ali Abdullah Al, Fatma Salim Al Kharusi, and Aisha Al Khamisi. 2024. Prevalence of Career Indecision and Factors Influencing it among Medical Students and Interns in Oman. Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine, 5 (Supplement 1), S49-S49. doi:
10.24911/SJEMed.72-1710348619
Ajmi, Ali Abdullah Al, Fatma Salim Al Kharusi, and Aisha Al Khamisi. "Prevalence of Career Indecision and Factors Influencing it among Medical Students and Interns in Oman." Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine 5 (2024), S49-S49. doi:
10.24911/SJEMed.72-1710348619
Ajmi, Ali Abdullah Al, Fatma Salim Al Kharusi, and Aisha Al Khamisi. "Prevalence of Career Indecision and Factors Influencing it among Medical Students and Interns in Oman." Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine 5.Supplement 1 (2024), S49-S49. Print. doi:
10.24911/SJEMed.72-1710348619
Ajmi, A. A. A., Kharusi, . F. S. A. & Khamisi, . A. A. (2024) Prevalence of Career Indecision and Factors Influencing it among Medical Students and Interns in Oman. Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine, 5 (Supplement 1), S49-S49. doi:
10.24911/SJEMed.72-1710348619