Abstract
BackgroundMedical students experience difficulties in the process of making decisions about their careers, which is referred to as career indecision. This study aimed to examine the difficulties in the career decision-making processes of medical students and to explore the association of coping strategies and psychological health with career indecision. The findings may provide a reference for designing interventions to advance satisfying career decisions for medical students.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of 359 medical students was conducted in 5 Chinese medical schools. Students completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire measuring their career indecision, coping strategies, and psychological health. Independent t-test, F-test, bivariate Pearson’s correlation analysis, and linear regression analysis were applied to test the relation between career indecision and the associated factors. Data were analyzed using SPSS V.22 for Windows. A p-value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.ResultsDifficulties regarding lack of readiness frequently occurred in medical students when making career decisions, with the highest score of 2.48 ± 0.58. Among all the associated factors in this study, career indecision was positively associated with psychological distress problem (β = 0.20, p < 0.05). This study also proved that being at a higher level of career indecision is negatively associated with using problem-focused coping strategies (β = − 0.14, p < 0.05). For the maladaptive coping strategies, applying dysfunctional coping strategies showed a significantly positive association with career indecision among medical students (β = 0.25, p < 0.05).ConclusionsMedical students experienced difficulties regarding lack of readiness frequently when making career decisions. Both coping strategies and psychological health were associated with career indecision among medical students. To prevent career indecision, it is necessary to promote earlier career awareness to medical students. Specifically, psychological health should be addressed in career intervention programs for medical students. Additionally, when helping medical students to cope with career indecision, cognitive techniques that reduce the use of maladaptive coping strategies and enhance the use of adaptive coping strategies should be adopted.
Highlights
Medical students experience difficulties in the process of making decisions about their careers, which is referred to as career indecision
For the three dimensions of Career Decision-making Difficulty Questionnaire (CDDQ), Lack of Readiness (LR) had the highest score of 2.48 ± 0.58, and II showed the lowest score of 2.37 ± 0.66
Similar results were found in studies from India and Pakistan, where medical students utilized the active coping strategies more frequently when dealing with various stressors [28, 29]
Summary
Medical students experience difficulties in the process of making decisions about their careers, which is referred to as career indecision. The employment rate of medical students ranked ninth to last in all the major specialties across China and has dropped from 89.3 to 88.0% in the past 3 years [8] These students may be unable to start building a professional pathway due to be blocked in their career decision-making processes [3, 9]. A better understanding of career indecision and its associated factors will provide a reference for designing interventions to alleviate career decision-making difficulties and advance satisfying career decisions for medical students [9, 13]. Few recent studies have focused on career indecision among medical students [14, 15]
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