Medical specialty choice: a dilemma between dream and necessity

The definition of a medical specialty is important both for the student’s future professional career as well as for the diversity of specialties and the number of professionals that will make up a given health system. Identify the areas of activity preferred by medical school specialists and compare them with government needs. Methods: A multicenter study with a cross-sectional, quantitative approach. The sample was made up of 201 finalists. Data were collected through a closed questionnaire automatically generated by Google Forms and exported to the statistical program (SPSS26) to calculate absolute and relative frequencies. The three specialties preferred by the finalists were Gynecology/Obstetrics (18.8%), Pediatrics (15.6%) and General Surgery (13.3%); the factors that led them to choose their specialties were affinity for the specialty (32.8%) and admiration for a teacher (19.5%). Comparing these results with the state’s needs, we found that student preferences were directed toward priority specialties at the tertiary level. It was observed that the most commonly chosen specialty was Gynecology/Obstetrics; the determining factor was affinity for the specialty and in comparison, with what the government needs, students’ preferences were directed toward priority specialties at the tertiary level and in the hospital branch.