Preferencias de los estudiantes de medicina de la Universidad de Buenos Aires en la elección de la especialidad

introduction. factors associated with medical students' specialty choice are work market opportunities, expected income, prestige, length of training and controllable life style possibility. however, cultural influence may modify the weight of these variables at time of choosing a specialty. aim. to analyze the factors influencing on medical students' specialty preferences. subjects and methods. from march to may of 2010, 125 medical students' from 5th and 6th year were surveyed. information was collected by an anonymous questionnaire about factors influencing on a future specialty choice. results. opinions about which specialties were regarded as better remunerate, has most prestige, a controllable life style, need more length of training and/or has a good job market were obtained. pediatrics was the most selected but it was considered one with the worst payment, with less length of training, moderate prestige, although an adequate job market. surgery was the second choice and was regarded as the one with most prestige and best remuneration. on the other hand, internal medicine was considered to need more length of training, with better work opportunities, but worse remuneration. internal medicine as well as surgery, is regarded as having the less controllable life style, being pediatrics on third place. conclusion. the characteristics of income, prestige, life style, length of training and job market opportunities, in general seem to not significantly relate on specialty selection.