Employment Intention of Chinese Medical Students During the COVID-19 Epidemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Context . In the process of combating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, medical personnel were at the forefront of the fight. As the future medical workforce, medical students often experienced firsthand how their seniors and teachers had to commit to working hard in combating the epidemic. Many were directly involved in the front line of the fight and that experience could easily have affected their intention to seek employment in a medically related career. Objective . The study intended to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese medical students' employment intentions and the factors associated with them to put forward relevant suggestions to provide a basis for medical education in the future. Design . The research team conducted a cross-sectional study, using an anonymous online questionnaire. Setting . The study took place in many provinces and cities in China and was conducted in an online questionnaire. Participants . Participants were 1114 college students studying clinical medicine, college students studying nursing, and students interning during standardized resident training, medical interns. Outcome Measures . The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, which investigated their psychological statuses related to anxiety and depression as well as COVID-19's impact on their intentions related to job searches, regarding their willingness to engage in clinical or basic research in epidemic-related specialties and epidemic-related work. Results . Compared to college students studying clinical medicine, the employment intentions of nursing students and medical interns were more vulnerable to the epidemic. Females and nursing students were more reluctant to choose clinical work, and the choice was associated with depression. Nursing college students and medical interns were significantly less willing to engage in infection medicine, respiratory medicine, and intensive care medicine (all P <.001). Medical students with a bachelor's degree and postgraduate degrees were significantly less willing to engage in infection medicine and respiratory medicine (all P <.001), but medical students from regions with stable epidemics were more willing to engage in intensive care medicine. Medical students with a bachelor's degree were significantly less likely to be involved in epidemiology-related work than undergraduate students, and students from severe epidemic regions were significantly less willing to work in isolation wards or to go to Wuhan as volunteers. Conclusions . Participants' psychological statuses related to anxiety and depression, genders, degrees, current educational statuses, and regions affected employment intentions during the epidemic.