Strength of motivation of 1^st year dental students of a dental institution: A cross-sectional study

Objective: The study aims to evaluate the motivation levels of dental students, with an emphasis on first-year BDS students, by utilizing the Strength of Motivation for Medical School (SMMS) questionnaire.

Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study targeting 89 first-year BDS students enrolled at Lahore Medical and Dental College from 5^th June to 18^th August 2023. The Strength of Motivation for Medical School (SMMS) questionnaire was given to the participants after ethical board approval. Data analysis was done through SPSS version 26. The SMMS score was presented as the means standard deviation and an independent t-test was used to find the difference between the groups. The maximum score possible is 80 and the minimum is 16. The higher the score, the greater the strength of motivation.

Results: In this study, a total of 89 first-year BDS students completed motivation questionnaires, with 34.8% males and 65.2% females. The average age was 19.92 ± 3.13. The overall Strength of Motivation Score (SMMS) averaged 45.53 ± 6.82. Results indicated 9% low, 89.9% moderate, and 1.1% strong motivation. Females had a slightly higher mean SMMS (45.93 ± 6.88) than males (44.80 ± 6.76), but the difference was deemed insignificant (p = 0.462) via independent t-test.

Conclusion: Motivation is vital to achieving excellence in academic pursuits. Nevertheless, there isn't a single criterion that can be utilized to assess success and motivation. Our primary focus must be on every possible outcome of success, not just the scoring criteria.