Career Choice of Health Workforce in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Abstract

Planning a workforce in the health sector of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa requires assessment of demand and supply of the healthcare services. The epidemiological mix shows the number of doctors needed in a specific field, which determines the demand for doctors in that area. This paper aims to study the supply of doctors and understand the trend of career choice of the postgraduate medical trainees, choosing different specialities. Data for this purpose is collected from Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI), by retrieving the doctors' records through their induction notifications, issued bi-annually. The supply of doctors is operationalized with the help of the career choice they make by opting for a particular speciality. The variables thus studied are the number of trainees inducted every year by PGMI, the number of doctors inducted against each speciality, and the gender of the doctor opting for a specific speciality. The sample consists of doctors inducted for postgraduate training from 2014 to 2019. It includes twelve induction sessions, with approximately 500 inductions in every session, depending on several variables. There are a total of 6,743 doctors that satisfy these conditions and are included in the study. The distribution of doctors is assessed using descriptive statistics, and the relationship of gender with speciality selection is tested using Chi-Square Analysis. The results show a skewed trend toward some specialities that the students have been choosing throughout the years. Simultaneously, the association of gender with the speciality selection of doctors is also empirically proven. Male students have inclination towards Medicine and Surgery, whereas females tend to choose gynaecology more than any other speciality. Similarly, Anaesthesia and Radiology are suffering due to the shortage of doctors.The paper also reports these findings in details with the annual trends for each of these specialities. It indicates that the policymakers would need to take steps to match the epidemiological demands in the future. The findings of this paper can be helpful in pre-emptively highlighting the shortage of workfoce in some specialities and their abundance in others. Various steps can be taken timely to handle the issues that can hinder service provision in the health sector, especially in the pandemic when the uncertainties are increasing.