Changes in Self‐Leadership and Self‐Efficacy After Leadership Training of First‐Year Premedical Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to elucidate to what extent the goals of the leadership training program implemented in a medical college were achieved. Study subjects consisted of 74 first-year premedical students at the College of Medicine of The Catholic University of Korea. All participants completed two questionnaires: an 18-item self-leadership questionnaire asking self-expectation, rehearsal, goal setting, self-rewards, self-judgment and constructive thinking, and a 28-item self-efficacy questionnaire asking preference toward difficult work, efficacy of self-control, and confidence before and after the leadership training program. Students also competed a program satisfaction survey after the program. The collected data were analyzed with a paired t-test, descriptive statistics by IBM SPSS ver. 20.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). Students' overall satisfaction with the program scored 4.06 out of 5. The scores of self-leadership and self-efficacy increased after the leadership training program except for 'confidence' in self-efficacy. The results indicate that an intensive leadership program in a short period of time could help to enhance social competencies such as communication skills, empathy, self-reflection, and teamwork of premedical students.