Does the priorities choice specialty by medical residents in Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences match with the needs of society?

Residents’ specialty choices have a direct impact on the health care workforce and the future supply of physician manpower. This study carried out to assess preferences choices of medical residents’ and society needs in Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 389 medical residents in 2013. Data on participants’ demographics, specialty selected and factors in specialty selection were collected using a questionnaire. Validity and reliability of the questionnaires were confirmed. The data was analyzed by descriptive and analytical tests using SPSS software. In total, 389 medical residents participated in this study, average residents age was 34.68±4.8, 48% were women and 24.5% were singled. The priorities in female participants were Radiology, Gynecology and Cardiology; and in male were Radiology, Cardiology and Orthopedist. Overall, Radiology (20.5%) Cardiology (17.8%) and Ophthalmology (9.2%) were the most favored specialty choices. According chi-square test gender was significantly associated with specialty choice. Chi-square test showed significant differences in preference specialty choice between male and female specialize in some fields.Statistically significant differences were seen between the priorities of specialty choice of medical residents and the capacity of specialized fields (p<0.05). Knowing the medical residents’ preferences of the various specialties could help in understanding the Mal distribution of physicians among the various specialties. These findings can also be an important input for the healthcare leadership to promote a specialty distribution that matches the society needs.