Specialty choices of medical students and house officers in Karachi, Pakistan

Understanding patterns of career choices in medicine is important for educators and policy-makers to plan the supply of specialists. This study analysed the career choices made by medical students and house officers in 2 private and 2 public medical schools in Karachi, Pakistan. An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was completed by 850 students. Internal medicine, paediatrics, general surgery and obstetrics and gynaecology were the 4 highest ranked specialties, with internal medicine ranked top as both the 1st and 2nd choice. Internal medicine was the 1st choice for significantly more students in public than private medical colleges [22.2% versus 14.9%]. Students from private medical institutions chose a wider range of specialties than those from publicly-funded colleges. A high proportion of medical students and graduates in Karachi favour the same medical specialties, which may lead to saturation in those areas of specialization

Drinking water: a major source of lead exposure in Karachi, Pakistan

Excess lead in drinking water is a neglected source of lead toxicity in Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey in 2007/08 was made of water samples from drinking water sources in Karachi, a large industrial city. This study aimed to compare lead levels between untreated ground water and treated surface [tap] water in 18 different districts. Of 216 ground and surface water samples collected, 86% had lead levels higher than the World Health Organization maximum acceptable concentration of 10 ppb. Mean lead concentration in ground water [146 [SD 119] ppb] was significantly higher than in surface water [77.1 [SD 54] ppb]. None of the 18 districts had a mean lead level of ground or surface water below the WHO cut-off and ground water sources in 9 districts had a severe level of contamination [> 150 ppb]. Urgent action is needed to eliminate sources of contamination