Exploring the Icarus Paradox in the Specialist Doctor Education System in Indonesia: Public Perspective from Online Media (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Paradox refers to the tension between the ambition to succeed as a medical specialist and the limitations of the medical education system. Indonesia has big ambitions to produce quality doctors, but there are limited infrastructure and resources that limit the educational journey of prospective specialist doctors. OBJECTIVE This research aims to determine the Icarus paradox in the medical education system, which describes prospective specialist medical students, and the quality of health services in Indonesia. Understand how the Icarus paradox is reflected in society's perspective on medical education by paying attention to the quality of services provided. METHODS Using a mixed methods approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative analysis. RESULTS This results in three cognitive perspectives that show the existence of the Icarus paradox in the Indonesian medical education system, namely the education system perspective, society's view of students, and the health service perspective. Although there are aspirations to improve the quality of health services and medical education, there are also structural challenges that hinder the journey of the medical profession. Students who are prospective specialist doctors face various problems, the quality of health services in Indonesia is influenced by limited resources and accessibility. This perspective was developed into a conceptual model. CONCLUSIONS This study provides valuable insight into the Icarus paradox in the context of the medical education system in Indonesia, highlighting its complexity and emphasizing the importance of reform in medical education. This research has limitations, primarily relying on online reviews that may not be representative of the entire population, and primarily focusing on the views of the public and students, thus potentially introducing subjective bias. Therefore, these findings emphasize the importance of improving medical education and health services to effectively address the challenges faced by medical professionals. CLINICALTRIAL -