Career motivation and burnout among medical students in Hungary - could altruism be a protection factor?

Abstract

BackgroundBurnout is a major issue among medical students. Its general characteristics are loss of interest in study and lack of motivation. A study of the phenomenon must extend beyond the university environment and personality factors to consider whether career choice has a role in the occurrence of burnout.MethodsQuantitative, national survey (n = 733) among medical students, using a 12-item career motivation list compiled from published research results and a pilot study. We measured burnout by the validated Hungarian version of MBI-SS.ResultsThe most significant career choice factor was altruistic motivation, followed by extrinsic motivations: gaining a degree, finding a job, accessing career opportunities. Lack of altruism was found to be a major risk factor, in addition to the traditional risk factors, for cynicism and reduced academic efficacy. Our study confirmed the influence of gender differences on both career choice motivations and burnout.ConclusionThe structure of career motivation is a major issue in the transformation of the medical profession. Since altruism is a prominent motivation for many women studying medicine, their entry into the profession in increasing numbers may reinforce its traditional character and act against the present trend of deprofessionalization.

Study to find out reasons for opting medical profession and regret after joining MBBS course among first year students of a medical college in Telangana

“…Tiwari et al and Gyorffy et al stated that to help the poor was the most common motive to take up medical profession. 10,13 The major reason for choosing medical profession among students was to serve the community according to Giri et al passion (41.26%) was the major motivational factor according to Rani et al 14,15 Scope of gaining good finance was listed among the top five reasons for selecting the medical profession which is in line with the finding of Ayuob et al 1 When enquired about different teaching methods, Majority (90%) of the subjects felt that demonstration was the best method which is similar to the findings of Das et al study conducted in Tripura. 16 This reflects the need to take more number of demonstration classes where students can learn the subject by doing but not by memorizing.…”

I am Becoming a Doctor: Mine or Someone Else’s Will? Or Does it Even Matter? A Qualitative Investigation

“…Intrinsic Motivation (a) Parents or family expectation/pressure (Al-Hemiary, Al-Nuaimi, Al-Saffar, & Randall, 2017;Diwan, Minj, Chhari, & De Costa, 2013;Rashmi A Kusurkar, Croiset, Galindo-Garré, & Ten Cate, 2013;McHarg, Mattick, & Knight, 2007;Pruthi et al, 2013;Shankar, Singh, Gautam, & Dhaliwal, 2013) (b) Monetary gain (Crossley & Mubarik, 2002;Győrffy, Birkás, & Sándor, 2016;Heikkilä et al, 2015;Hyppölä et al, 1998;Rashmi A Kusurkar et al, 2013;McHarg et al, 2007;McHugh et al, 2011;Skatova & Ferguson, 2014) (c) Prestigious profession (Diwan et al, 2013;Girasek, Molnár, Eke, & Szócska, 2011;Győrffy et al, 2016;Heikkilä et al, 2015;Hyppölä et al, 1998;Khami, Murtomaa, Jafarian, Vehkalahti, & Virtanen, 2008;Rashmi A Kusurkar et al, 2013;Skatova & Ferguson, 2014) (d) Good academic results (Vaglum, Wiers-Fenssen, & Ekeberg, 1999) (e) Illness/death in the family (Győrffy et al, 2016;Hyppölä et al, 1998;McHarg et al, 2007) (f) Maintaining self-worth (Wouters, Croiset, Isik, & Kusurkar, 2017) (g) Career prospects (Ayuob, Bahumdain, AL-Najei, Khobrani, & El Deek, 2015;Crossley & Mubarik, 2002;Girasek et al, 2011;Győrffy et al, 2016;Heikkilä et al, 2015;Hyppölä et al, 1998;Pagnin et al, 2013;Skatova & Ferguson, 2014) (h) Altruism (desire to help people, giving back to society)…”

“…It is recommended that students themselves as well as the educators should be involved in modifying motivation among medical students. Burnout among medical students has been commonly reported as pursuing a medical degree is known to be highly stressful (Almeida, Souza, Almeida, Almeida, & Almeida, 2016;Cohen et al, 2005;Győrffy et al, 2016;Lyndon et al, 2017;Pagnin et al, 2013;Park et al, 2012). Therefore, after entering medical school, it is imperative for students to properly reflect on why they want to become a doctor, and if possible, they should possess strong motivation.…”

“…Therefore, after entering medical school, it is imperative for students to properly reflect on why they want to become a doctor, and if possible, they should possess strong motivation. This is so that medical students could cope better with the various challenges awaiting them in their studies (Győrffy et al, 2016).…”

The ‘Hello my name is …’ campaign: student‐led change

“…Such feelings are important to promote, given the prevalence of stress and burnout in medical students . Altruism, expressed through such student‐led change, has been suggested as a protective factor against burnout, and for this reason we hope that readers, in particular students, will feel empowered to effect changes in their own organisations or faculty members …”