Afghan medical students' perceptions, and experiences of their medical education and their professional intentions: a cross-sectional study

Muhammad Haroon Stanikzai; Mohammad Hashim Wafa; Khalid Akbari; Zabihullah Anwary; Ahmad Haroon Baray; Hadia Sayam; Abdul Wahed Wasiq

doi:10.1186/s12909-023-04577-7

Afghan medical students' perceptions, and experiences of their medical education and their professional intentions: a cross-sectional study

BMC Med Educ. 2023 Aug 11;23(1):569. doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04577-7.

Authors

Muhammad Haroon Stanikzai¹, Mohammad Hashim Wafa², Khalid Akbari³, Zabihullah Anwary⁴, Ahmad Haroon Baray⁵, Hadia Sayam⁶, Abdul Wahed Wasiq⁷

Affiliations

¹ Public Health Department, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Kandahar, Afghanistan. haroonstanikzai1@gmail.com.
² Neuropsychiatric and Behavioral Science Department, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
³ Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Paktia University, Paktia, Afghanistan.
⁴ Clinic Department, Faculty of Medicine, Bost University, Helmand, Afghanistan.
⁵ Public Health Department, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
⁶ Para-Clinic Department, Faculty of Medicine, Malalay Institute of Higher Education, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
⁷ Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Abstract

Background: Numerous challenges have crippled the Afghan healthcare system on individual, organizational, and societal levels. The Afghans have acknowledged that an evidence-based perspective is paramount to enhancing medical training capacities across the country, which may, in turn, best ensure appointing highly competent authorities to address health system problems on such multiple levels.

Objectives: This study assessed current Afghan senior medical students' perceptions, and experiences of their medical education and their future professional intentions.

Methods: We conducted this cross-sectional study at seven public and private Afghan medical institutes from March to April 2022. We invited 665 senior medical students through an anonymous survey using the Google survey online forms via social-media platforms, such as WhatsApp Messenger. Descriptive statistics were employed for the data analyses.

Results: The mean age (± SD) of the students was 23.7 (± 2.2) years and males constituted 79.9% (510) of the study sample. About 22.6% of them rated their medical training as excellent, and nearly a third of them (37%) said that it is good. Nearly half (48.7%) of the students would prefer to stay in Afghanistan. The leading motives for moving overseas were to obtain more advanced and quality education (69.9%), and a decent personal life (43.9%). Nearly two-thirds (67.4%) of them asserted that current political and armed conflicts in Afghanistan may have influenced their professional choices.

Conclusion: This study epitomizes that the quality of medical education in Afghanistan has room for growth and development to meet the standards set on regional and global grounds.

Keywords: Afghanistan; Career choices; Conflict; Medical education; Medical students.

MeSH terms

Adult
Career Choice
Cross-Sectional Studies
Education, Medical*
Humans
Intention
Male
Students, Medical*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult