Career plans of final-year medical students in South Africa

Among the challenges facing South Africa in human resources for health is the maldistribution of doctors across the levels of care, the public and private sectors, and rural and urban areas. There is strong international evidence that students of rural origin, and those with intent to practice rural medicine, are more likely to practice in rural settings after graduation. The purpose of this study was to survey final year medical students about their career plans and the influences on those plans, in order to describe implications for the future training of doctors in South Africa.