MEDICAL FIELD VOLUNTEERS’ MOTIVATIONAL RESOURCES IN CRISIS CONDITIONS

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the psychological characteristics of motivational resources contributing to effective performance in crisis conditions among medical field volunteers. To achieve this objective, a psychodiagnostic survey was conducted among volunteers using a self-assessment questionnaire assessing performance and effectiveness in volunteer activities in crisis conditions, paired with the "Diagnostic of Motivational Personality Structure" methodology by V. Milman. The surveyed volunteers’ group was divided into three samples based on the level and content of their education in the health field: medical students, healthcare professionals (doctors of various specializations, nurses, pharmacists, rehabilitation specialists, and others), and individuals with education in public administration and management in healthcare. The statistical methods applied in these three empirical samples (i.e., descriptive analysis, Fisher's analysis of variance, and post hoc tests) allowed characterizing the peculiarities of motivational resources among volunteers. Based on the empirical data, it was determined that, in the personal well-being context, the primary competencies of the motivation-value resource for volunteers in the medical field in crisis conditions were a sense of personal need to partake in volunteer work and the presence of motivation for social (community) usefulness, leading to enrichment of the volunteer’s personality. Motivation for safety and comfort or a high fascination with business leads to an excessive idealization of the results and processes of volunteer activities, exhausts the individual, and can be a factor contributing to burnout.