MEDICAL-STUDENTS MOTIVATION FOR INTERNAL-MEDICINE

Objective: To verify that motivational concepts tested in other educat ional settings are relevant to understanding medical students' choice of a career in internal medicine. More specifically, to compare the ef fects of ''facilitating students' interest'' versus ''controlling stud ents' learning'' as educational models during the internal medicine cl erkship. Design: An observational retrospective study of 89 fourth-yea r medical students. Structural equation modeling compared the two mode ls statistically. Main outcome measure: Student choice of internal med icine residency. Results: Instructors who supported students' autonomy engendered in students greater feelings of competence and interest in internal medicine than did controlling instructors. Perceived compete nce further enhanced students' interest in internal medicine. In turn, interest predicted students' choosing an internal medicine residency. Overall, the facilitating students' interest model better explained s tudents' choice of internal medicine than did the controlling students ' learning model. Conclusions: The results verify that the nature of t he learning climate during the internal medicine clerkship is an impor tant predictor of students' subsequent pursuit of internal medicine tr aining. Instructors who teach in an autonomy-supportive manner enhance students' perceived competence and interest in internal medicine, whi ch increases the likelihood they will select an internal medicine resi dency.