Motivations and future aspirations of dental interns: A cross-sectional study

Background: Career choice is one of the most important and critical decisions in a student′s life. Educators and admission committees are also interested in researching the factors that affect a student′s decision to opt for dentistry. Objectives: To identify dental interns′ motivation for studying...

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Main Author: Suruchi Aditya
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2013-01-01
Series:SRM Journal of Research in Dental Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.srmjrds.in/article.asp?issn=0976-433X;year=2013;volume=4;issue=3;spage=114;epage=118;aulast=Aditya
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author Suruchi Aditya
author_facet Suruchi Aditya
author_sort Suruchi Aditya
collection DOAJ
description Background: Career choice is one of the most important and critical decisions in a student′s life. Educators and admission committees are also interested in researching the factors that affect a student′s decision to opt for dentistry. Objectives: To identify dental interns′ motivation for studying dentistry and to study their future aspirations after graduation. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive survey. A detailed, anonymous, structured questionnaire to assess motivating factors for joining dentistry as a profession was administered to the study group of 78 dental undergraduate students undergoing internship (interns). The questionnaire consisted of sections on demographic details, motivational factors, and career choice items. Data was analyzed using counts and percentages and ranking of motivating factors was based on calculation of mean and standard deviation. Results: The response rate was 94%. Majority of the respondents were females (80%). The most popular reasons for choosing dentistry as a career were family advice, prestige and social status, interest in medical sciences and altruistic motives. The majority of the students planned to do postgraduation (35.1%) or practice dentistry (18.9%) after graduation. The dental students had a positive attitude towards the dental profession. Conclusion: The motives for joining dentistry were primarily related to personal factors. The students took responsibility for their career choice and parents′ approval played a major role. Majority of the students planned to pursue a postgraduation degree after completing graduation and few were inclined to be employed in public or private sector.
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spelling doaj.art-03c948ed28ab44fbb4459106a979be522022-12-22T03:02:28ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsSRM Journal of Research in Dental Sciences2772-52432772-52512013-01-014311411810.4103/0976-433X.121635Motivations and future aspirations of dental interns: A cross-sectional studySuruchi AdityaBackground: Career choice is one of the most important and critical decisions in a student′s life. Educators and admission committees are also interested in researching the factors that affect a student′s decision to opt for dentistry. Objectives: To identify dental interns′ motivation for studying dentistry and to study their future aspirations after graduation. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive survey. A detailed, anonymous, structured questionnaire to assess motivating factors for joining dentistry as a profession was administered to the study group of 78 dental undergraduate students undergoing internship (interns). The questionnaire consisted of sections on demographic details, motivational factors, and career choice items. Data was analyzed using counts and percentages and ranking of motivating factors was based on calculation of mean and standard deviation. Results: The response rate was 94%. Majority of the respondents were females (80%). The most popular reasons for choosing dentistry as a career were family advice, prestige and social status, interest in medical sciences and altruistic motives. The majority of the students planned to do postgraduation (35.1%) or practice dentistry (18.9%) after graduation. The dental students had a positive attitude towards the dental profession. Conclusion: The motives for joining dentistry were primarily related to personal factors. The students took responsibility for their career choice and parents′ approval played a major role. Majority of the students planned to pursue a postgraduation degree after completing graduation and few were inclined to be employed in public or private sector.http://www.srmjrds.in/article.asp?issn=0976-433X;year=2013;volume=4;issue=3;spage=114;epage=118;aulast=Adityacareer plansdental studentsmotivations
spellingShingle Suruchi Aditya
Motivations and future aspirations of dental interns: A cross-sectional study
SRM Journal of Research in Dental Sciences
career plans
dental students
motivations
title Motivations and future aspirations of dental interns: A cross-sectional study
title_full Motivations and future aspirations of dental interns: A cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Motivations and future aspirations of dental interns: A cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Motivations and future aspirations of dental interns: A cross-sectional study
title_short Motivations and future aspirations of dental interns: A cross-sectional study
title_sort motivations and future aspirations of dental interns a cross sectional study
topic career plans
dental students
motivations
url http://www.srmjrds.in/article.asp?issn=0976-433X;year=2013;volume=4;issue=3;spage=114;epage=118;aulast=Aditya
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