Motivation in first-year students of Medicine degree. School year 2015-2016

Abstract

Introduction: high Medical Education in Cuba has the mission of the integral education of the Medical Sciences students, involving theoretical knowledge, professional skills, ethics and values formation and development; therefore, they should be motivated and the teachers should develop a stimulation process allowing them to reach the desired aim.
Aim: it is analyzed the professional motivation of the first-year students of Medicine degree in the school year 2015-2016.
Materials and methods: the aspects related with motivation and the interests associated to the chosen profession in first year students are characterized through the survey designed for the research.
Results: less than 50 % of the surveyed students always wanted to study Medicine. 61 % wanted to study other professions. The reasons influencing the choice were: allowing them to be near to other persons, doing well to other persons, love and respect to the profession, understanding the necessity and social importance of this specialty, and the advises of their parents and relatives.  87 % of the students enjoy studying the matters; they are not indifferent to none of them; 13 % of them think the matters are stressful, they do not enjoy them or they do not know what to say.
Conclusions: motivation is an important milestone in the students´ training in the new university. Not all of the students chose the specialty they study now as their first choice; they became motivated as they were studying the matters. Ways and methods to increase professional orientation should be applied in the different forms of teaching organization