Abstract
Current medical school education focuses on acquiring appropriate knowledge with relatively little interest in developing the career selection skills of medical students. We investigated medical students’ perceptions of career problems and the required types of career counseling programs. Five focus group discussions were held with 23 medical students. The consensual qualitative study method was used to analyze the recorded discussion process. The medical students were more influenced by parents and grades than by subjective choices when deciding on admission to medical school. In future career choices, medical students considered the stability and feasibility of the career and expected quality of life. However, there were several opinions that it is essential to understand oneself. Objective and specific career information was lacking, and meeting with the professor was not very helpful for career counseling. Most medical students expected the effectiveness of the career counseling program but hoped the program would proceed with voluntary participation. Medical students wanted a variety of concrete and objective information, such as specialty information for choosing residency training, trainee hospital information, and post-residency training information in the career counseling program. Most medical students are not ready for career-related problems, therefore making it necessary to develop a career counseling program suitable for them.
Highlights
Contrary to the common belief that admission to a medical school determines one’s career, medical school students are required to select a specific area, such as general medicine or a clinical field, after completing 4–6 years of medical study [1]
There is a frequent cessation of residency programs or change of specialty [2,3,4], which may represent the underdeveloped exploration of the desired career path during the specialty selection process
Focus group discussions were conducted with medical students to understand their career concerns
Summary
Contrary to the common belief that admission to a medical school determines one’s career, medical school students are required to select a specific area, such as general medicine or a clinical field, after completing 4–6 years of medical study [1]. After becoming a medical resident, they must choose a specialty and training hospital. During this process, there is a frequent cessation of residency programs or change of specialty [2,3,4], which may represent the underdeveloped exploration of the desired career path during the specialty selection process. Students are overwhelmed with excessive academic competition and have no time to explore career options. Current medical school education focuses primarily on essential medical knowledge and skills, with relatively little interest in career choice and student counseling
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