The Reasons for Choosing Medical Education and Expectations of the First Year Students in Ataturk University Faculty of Medicine

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the reasons for choosing medical education and the expectations of the new students of the first year of medical school that began in the academic year 2012-2013. Method: A questionnaire was given to the first year students, which consisted of questions concerning gender, place of residence, high school from which she/ he graduated, socio-demographic characteristics, such as education level of parents, whether the parents played a role in preferring medical education, reasons for choosing medical school and the expectations related to medical education. A total of 31 questions were asked, some of which were open-ended. The students responded to the survey on a voluntary basis. Results: A total of 213 students participated in the study. The mean age was 18.71 +/- 1.32 years. Of all the students, 53.5% (n= 114) was female. The place of residence of the students' families was mostly in the Eastern Anatolia Region, the majority of which were in the town center. Of all the parents, 50.0% (n= 106) of the fathers and only 20% (n= 42) of the mothers had a university degree. The parents played a role in making the choice of the students. There were no other physicians in the family in most of the cases. Of all the students, 94.8% (n= 202) had preparation courses for university entrance exams. Violence towards the physicians affected the students' choice in only 7% (n= 15) of the cases. For 99% (n= 208) of respondents, medical education was the first choice. Of all the students, 34.2% had this preference, as this was their dream career. Conclusion: Studying medicine is still popular despite the recently increased adverse events such as violence towards physicians, and most of the students study medicine on their own volition. It is encouraging and promising for the future that the students voluntarily choose for this difficult and long-term training.