Abstract

SORIA, Marisol; GUERRA, Manuel; GIMENEZ, Ignacio  and  FERNANDO ESCANERO, Jesús. The decision to study Medicine: characteristics. Educ. méd. [online]. 2006, vol.9, n.2, pp.91-97. ISSN 1575-1813.

The present paper analyses the different factors that govern the decision to study Medicine. Second year medical students answered a questionnaire designed to analyze the moment when the decision was taken, the factors influencing this decision, their reasons for choosing Medicine and the pattern of selection. A descriptive analysis of the indicated variables and the relation between them was carried out, taking into account the possible influence of sex for all variables. The results obtained show that a high percentage of students that choose to study Medicine take their decision before the rest of the student population decides on what degree to study. Those students who decide earlier present significant differences in terms of the factors that influenced their decisión and the pattern of selection. Moreover, it has been found that the principal reasons for choosing this degree are altruistic and humanitarian. Women show different results regarding the medical speciality that they would like to pursue and place significantly less importance on material factors than their male counterparts. In conclusion, medical students present a high degree of social vocation that has been reinforced by the substantial incorporation of women into this area of study.

Keywords : Medical degree; Medical students; election; factors of influence; reasons; patterns of selection and sex.

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