MOTIVATIONAL AND EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF CHOOSING MEDICAL PROFESSION BY MEDICAL UNIVERSITY APPLICANTS

Abstract

Abstract. It is extremely important to understand the motivation of medical university applicants in preparing a competent competitive specialist, since a motivated persons are willing to invest a lot of effort in their study They are dedicated, truly effective at work and capable of continuing professional development. The motivational profile of medical university applicants is not stereotypical. It depends on both mentality and the health care system in the country of residence. The purpose of the study was to determine the main motives for choosing the profession of a doctor among Ukrainian applicants, to assess their interrelationships and to identify the factors associated with them. We conducted an anonymous questionnaire-based survey in 202 applicants who were admitted to the master’s program in Medicine at Dnipro State Medical University in 2022. Our analysis showed that choosing Medicine as a career was motivated. A half of the respondents decided to study Medicine more than 3 years ago. Near 30 % of the applicants chose medical profession 2–3 years ago. Every second respondent had doctors in his social circle. We found both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for choosing medical profession at applicants. The factors of intrinsic motivation dominated in most cases. The most commonly mentioned motives were: interest in medicine – 97.5 %, desire to help others – 93.1 %, prestige of the medical profession – 88.6 %, interest in biological sciences – 82.7 %, guaranteed employment – 81.2 %. Choosing Medicine as a career because of the parental wish was associated with such motivational components as “family tradition” (φ=0.30) and “lack of other options” (φ=0.26). The respondents of this category were not interested in medicine (φ=0.51), they tended to think about a career abroad (φ=0.17). The females noted the lack of other options when choosing medical profession significantly more often as compared to males (p<0.01). They tended to choose Medicine as a career because of the desire to help others (p=0.06), money / financial independence in the future (р=0.06), desire to get a master’s degree (р=0.07). The motives for choosing medical profession did not depend on the sources of funding for higher education (p>0.05).