Motivation for studying medicine: assessing the similarities between UK and Ghanaian medical students

Abstract

Countries around the world experience challenges in ensuring equal distribution of health workers. For countries faced with this problem, there are many benefits to international co-operation. Before this can occur, however, there needs to be an understanding of the homogeneity of medical students between countries. This paper assesses the similarities in motivation to study medicine between medical students from the United Kingdom (UK) and Ghana. A survey previously performed on fourth-year Ghanaian students was reproduced with medical students in the UK. Students were asked to record their motivation for studying medicine, opinions on future career [general practice (GP) for UK students and a rural position for Ghanaian students] and basic demographics. The results were compared between the two cohorts using Fisher's exact test. Of medical students, 302 from Ghana and 78 from UK completed the survey. Of students, 63.5 and 75.0% were classified as intrinsically motivated in Ghana and the UK, respectively. Apart from parental education status, student demographics were broadly similar. Within the UK cohort, 30.1% of students considered it likely that they would work in GP in their future careers. Medical students are similarly motivated between the two countries. This suggests that greater co-operation may be possible when tackling difficulties in human resources for health. This is especially relevant for the UK, as the level of students predicting a career in GP in this study remains well below the national target.

The decision to be a physician: a Brazil-Portugal multicultural study

“…For most participants in this study, the professional choice included more than one motivational factor, sometimes This similarity occurs despite the cultural, social and economic differences between the two countries. A similar result was found in studies that compared the United Kingdom with Spain and Ghana 16,17 .…”

“…Qualitative studies in the Netherlands and quantitative ones in Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom described similar results to those observed in the Portuguese group, where interest in science and in helping people were the main reasons for following a medical career 16,17,25,[29][30][31] .…”

“…Studies carried out in different countries, with quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches, evaluating different generations of medical students, at different times during the course and also analyzing recently graduated students 12,16,17,[21][22][23][24][25] showed similar results, with a predominance of an inherent motivational tendency, a natural source of learning and achievements, considered a critical element in cognitive, social and physical development 9 . Intrinsically motivated individuals are more likely to engage in deeper learning, demonstrate better performance, greater creativity and the development of a strong professional identity 12 .…”

“…The motivation to practice Medicine has been studied by several researchers in different countries. Some studies have compared their results in different social and cultural realities 16,17 . There is, however, a scarcity in studies that deal with motivational factors related to choosing a medical career, when comparing Brazil and Portugal.…”

Reasons to pursue a career in medicine: a qualitative study in Sierra Leone

“…The question of how motivation to study medicine might vary across different countries or cultures remains largely unanswered although one study comparing medical students in Ghana and UK suggests they might be similar [ 24 ]. Investigating the motivations of young people applying to enter undergraduate medical educational programmes have mostly originated from high resource settings and few are from the low resource setting or more specifically from Sub-Saharan Africa.…”