Introduction: There is a concerning trend of emigration among highly educated individuals in Montenegro. This includes medical professionals who seek better job opportunities abroad. The aim of the present study was to identify the primary motivational factors driving Montenegrin medical students to pursue a career in medicine, and whether these factors undergo changes over the course of their studies.
Methods: A cross-sectional study included 210 medical students in Montenegro, 27.62% were males, and 72.38% were females. The mean age of the students was 21.90 years (SD=3.05) (range 19-39). Their academic motivation was analysed using the Academic Motivation Scale, previously validated in various cultural contexts.
Results: The results showed that autonomous motivation levels were higher than controlled motivation levels (p<0.001) among students in Montenegro, which has been previously associated with better learning outcomes. Students with medical doctors among their family members had higher extrinsic motivation related to rewards and punishments (extrinsic motivation with external regulation p=0.018). Amotivation showed a trend of increasing as the students got closer to graduation (p=0.057). Only 8.1% of students planned a career in primary healthcare, and 1% wished to specialize in family medicine.
Conclusions: This study's findings, which indicate high levels of autonomous motivation among medical students, are of significant importance. They contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the motivation factors among medical students and young healthcare professionals in Montenegro. Moreover, they provide a basis for the implementation of strategic interventions to retain highly skilled medical professionals within the country's workforce, thereby addressing the concerning trend of emigration among this group.
Uvod: Med visokošolsko izobraženimi posamezniki v Črni gori obstaja skrb vzbujajoč trend izseljevanja, kar vključuje zdravstvene delavce, ki iščejo boljše zaposlitvene možnosti v tujini. Cilj te študije je bil opredeliti primarne motivacijske dejavnike, zaradi katerih črnogorski študenti medicine izberejo poklicno pot v medicini, in ugotoviti, ali se ti dejavniki med njihovim študijem spremenijo.
Metode: V presečno študijo smo vključili 210 študentov medicine v Črni gori, med katerimi je bilo 27,62 % moških in 72,38 % žensk. Povprečna starost študentov je bila 21,90 leta (SD = 3,05) (razpon 19–39). Njihovo akademsko motivacijo smo analizirali z lestvico akademske motivacije, ki je bila predhodno validirana v različnih kulturnih okoljih.
Rezultati: Rezultati so pokazali, da so ravni avtonomne motivacije večje od kontrolirane (p < 0,001), kar je bilo prej povezano z boljšimi učnimi rezultati. Študenti, ki imajo zdravnike med družinskimi člani, so imeli višjo zunanjo motivacijo, povezano z nagrajevanjem in kaznovanjem (zunanja motivacija z zunanjo regulacijo p = 0,018). Trend pomanjkanja motivacije se povečuje, ko se študenti približujejo zaključku študija (p = 0,057). Samo 8,1 % študentov je načrtovalo poklicno pot v primarnem zdravstvenem varstvu, 1 % pa jih je želelo opravljati specializacijo družinske medicine.
Zaključki: Ugotovitve študije, ki kažejo visoke ravni avtonomne motivacije med študenti medicine, so zelo pomembne, saj prispevajo k celovitemu razumevanju motivacijskih dejavnikov med študenti medicine in mladimi zdravstvenimi delavci. Poleg tega zagotavljajo podlago za izvedbo strateških ukrepov, s katerimi bi zadržali visoko usposobljene zdravstvene delavce na delovnih mestih v državi in tako obvladali skrb vzbujajoč trend izseljevanja v tej skupini.
Keywords: Academic motivation; Medical education; Medical students; Professional plans.
© 2024 Elvir Zvrko et al., published by Sciendo.