What Is Behind a Student’s Choice for Becoming a Doctor?

Abstract

PURPOSE: To determine the reasons for choosing the medical profession by interviewing freshmen medical students from the Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo and investigating their socioeconomic and psychological profiles, as well as to determine whether there are gender differences. METHOD: One hundred and sixty three freshmen medical students answered a questionnaire regarding their socioeconomical profile. Of those, 30 female and 30 male students underwent a face-to-face interview regarding the career choice, the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF). The results were analyzed qualitatively and by Mann-Whitney, χ 2 , Fisher's Exact, and r p coefficient tests. RESULTS: Most students were middle class, catholic, and had physicians in their families. Students of both genders had made an: early choice of the medical career and a persistence in taking exams many times, even after being discouraged. They also showed an awareness of the difficulties and limitations in developing their careers. The study revealed a strong valuation of the humanistic aspects of medicine; openness to new experiences; a deep personal identification with the choice of profession; a critical need for fulfillment in their careers; and conscious and unconscious desires to help people and be recognized for their usefulness, without being narcissistic. Female students were more sensitive (P <.001) and less imaginative (P = .005) than male students, who were more utilitarian and less grounded; female students tended to present greater emotional maturity while male students presented a greater tendency towards competition, and were more ambitious. CONCLUSIONS: Students of both genders have similar socio-economical profiles and features regarding their motivations for choosing the medical profession. Slight differences were found regarding some psychological aspects.

Motivation as an independent and a dependent variable in medical education: A review of the literature

“…Similar motives (Karalliedde & Premadasa 1988) and intellectual content were found in other studies on pre-medical and medical students (Kutner & Brogan 1980;Harth et al 1990;Todisco et al 1995;Vaglum et al 1999;Lovecchio & Dundes 2002;Wierenga et al 2003;Rolfe et al 2004;Khater-Menassa & Major 2005). The ability to help people appears to be the strongest motive (Kutner & Brogan 1980;Price et al 1994;Todisco et al 1995;Vaglum et al 1999;Rolfe et al 2004;Millan et al 2005). Women over 30 chose medicine to find intellectual motivation, develop competence and feel achievement (Kaplan 1981 increased patient care responsibility, medical knowledge, personal challenge and status (Gussman 1982).…”

A opção pela medicina e os planos em relação ao futuro profissional de estudantes de uma faculdade pública Brasileira

“…Esse fato é relatado por ser muito significativo, sugerindo a importância de que mecanismos inconscientes estejam fortemente envolvidos na escolha, o que já foi bastante estudado [1][2][3][4] [1][2][3][4][5] , sendo o altruísmo o fator mais frequente, seguido de curiosidade científica, influência de terceiros, principalmente familiares, e motivação precoce, aqui chamada de fantasia ou sonho e na qual possivelmente estaria envolvido muito do inconsciente.…”

“…A escolha da medicina como profissão, sem dúvida, resulta de vários fatores, alguns deles não conscientes e outros mais explícitos, e tem sido estudada no Brasil e no mundo [1][2][3][4] . Em estudo realizado na Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) em 2000, Ferreira et al 5 relataram que: Chamou ainda a atenção dos autores o fato de a inserção no mercado de trabalho não ter sido apontada como fator importante na escolha da profissão 5 .…”

The prevalence of burnout syndrome in medical students

“…Thus, the excessive study workload; the demanding educational requirements; the lack of time for leisure, family and friends; and individual personality traits such as perfectionism and self-imposed standards become potential triggers of stress and dysfunctional behaviors 1,[5][6][7][8] . In addition, at certain points during student's medical education, critical stress triggers may emerge, such as contact with patients and serious illnesses and death or the students' graduation, which is accompanied by uncertainty about the future 2,9 .…”