Determinants of educational and career decisions as well as educational migration based on the example of medical students at the Medical University of Lodz

Abstract

Career decisions are most often made when taking up higher education. This is particularly true for medical students, especially medical practice students. Many factors influence the decisions made by young people. The subject literature mainly points to the importance of one’s own predisposition and interests, but also to the role of remuneration and the situation of a particular profession in the labor market. The case of people who take up the medical practice course of the Ministry of National Defense (MND) at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland is particularly interesting. The purpose of this paper is to show the reasons identified during the pilot study for taking up the analyzed course, the choice of university, and the university city. The pilot study, designed in principle to verify the validity of the prepared survey questionnaire, was conducted among 29 third-year students of the MND medical practice course at the Medical University of Lodz. It was conducted using a diagnostic survey method in the form of a questionnaire with over a dozen questions. The questions addressed the factors related to the students’ choice of medical practice course, determinants affecting their choice of the Medical University of Lodz and the university city. The questionnaire also contained questions about the respondents’ post-graduation plans and demographics. The results of the study allowed for the identification of the most important factors that affected the respondents’ choice of the medical practice course. These included personal interests, predisposition, the profession’s prestige, family traditions, and the physician’s remuneration. Other aspects included the factors affecting the choice of university and Łódź as the university city. The results of the study proved that the respondents chose the medical university in Łódź due to the availability of the MND medical practice course, as it is the only course of its kind in Poland. The high quality of the learning facilities, the university’s prestige, and the high level of teaching were also of great importance. Łódź was chosen as the university city primarily because of its university and the availability of the MND medical practice course.