Assessment of knowledge and perception about anest esiology and anesthesiology as a future career, among Medical students at jimma university institute health Jimma, Ethiopia,

Abstract

Background; Anesthesiology is a critical specialty within the medical field, focusing on the care of patients before, during, and after surgical procedures. It involves monitoring vital signs, managing pain levels, and regulating consciousness. Anesthesiologists are specialized doctors in charge of administering anesthetics and overseeing patients' critical functions during surgeries and other medical procedures. Despite its crucial significance, medical students frequently lack knowledge and comprehension of anesthesiology, which may have an impact on their choice to become a doctor. Objectives; To assess the knowledge and perception of medical students about Anesthesiology and their Interest in Anesthesiology as a future career among medical students at JUIH faculty of medical science. Method; A Cross-sectional study was conducted at JUIH faculty of medical science.174 clinical year medical students were selected by simple random sampling technique. Data was collected using structured questionnaires by kobo tool box. The collected data were entered, clean-edited, and analyzed using SPSS version 25.0statistical software. Factors influencing the knowledge and perception of medical students were analyzed using bi-variable and multivariable binary logistic regression. Result: Among 173 clinical year and internship medical students surveyed, three-fourths of them have good knowledge about anesthesiology, and 68.78% of them have a positive perception about anesthesiology. Majority of participants (67.6%) reported undergoing anesthesiology related clinical rotation. 5th-year and 6th-year medical students have 4.64 times and 8.93 times better knowledge compared to 4th-year students respectively, which indicates progression in the academic year can increase knowledge about the specific specialties. Regarding their interest in anesthesiology as a feature career, only 19.1 % of them have pursued anesthesiology. Conclusion: Although 75% of medical students at Jimma University Medical Faculty have a good understanding about anesthesiology, only 19.1% want to pursue it as a career. An increase in age and Seniority correlates with better knowledge of anesthesiology among medical students