The choice of Medicine as a profession and the students’ labor perspective

Abstract

Introduction: Medicine is a prestigious profession, therefore, although competition for admission is fierce and studies require dedication and sacrifices, thousands of young people face the challenge of becoming doctors every year. Objective: Describe the reasons why medical school students chose Medicine as a profession and their concerns about the job perspective. Method: Quantitative descriptive and documentary research, through the application of a questionnaire with sociodemographic and specific questions. Result: A high percentage of the female gender stood out, with 63.31% of the participants. The main reasons for choosing Medicine as a profession were altruism (71.75%), financial stability (59.42%) and personal accomplishment (58.77%). However, there was a decrease in the preference for altruism during internship (p<0.01). The biggest concern after training was “Doing a good job / Being a good professional” (79.87%) and, in relation to the “job market” and “devaluation of the profession”, there was an increase in the concern during internship (p <0.001). The majority (91.92%) expressed the intention to become a specialist physician, with the specialty of Gynecology and Obstetrics being the most sought after. Regarding the way of working, 51.3% expressed the desire to be a self-employed professional, 55.52% a public or private employee and 7.92% a liberal professional. The greatest difficulty expected in the profession was competition (57.70%) and the most important requirement for professional practice was “Medicine as a means to be useful or help people” (98.38%). Regarding the feelings experienced as a student, the levels of anxiety, stress and feeling of overload were high, respectively 80.52%, 79.55% and 73.38%. Conclusion: At the beginning of the course, there is a more idealized view of Medicine and throughout the development of phases, as contact with medical practice occurs, the students better understand their difficulties and increase their concerns, especially with the job market and the devaluation of the profession, causing, in some, the reduction of the humanistic ideals that motivated the choice of the profession, an aspect to be valued by medical schools during professional training.