The outlook of first professional medical students: do we need to guide them? a study from India

Objectives: The rapid expansion in the number of medical colleges in India calls for analysis of the aspirations of students who enrol into these colleges. A number of studies have been conducted on similar lines in various countries. This study is an attempt to explore the outlook of medical students in a college in Northern India.

 

Methods: A set of four open ended questions was given to first year medical students. The questions were related to various aspects such as, reasons for choosing a medical career, expectations from the medical college, time management and learning methods. The students            ‟ responses were grouped into a number of categories, although no predefined choices were given.

 

Results: The percentage distribution of responses of the students to each question was calculated. The results indicated that most students chose a career in medicine due to parental pressure, their expectations from medical colleges were mainly teacher-oriented, they had poor awareness of time management skills and they mostly used traditional learning methods.

 

Conclusions: The students need to be made aware about time management strategies and optimal learning methods. We suggest that medical colleges in India introduce a structured orientation program, in which these aspects are introduced to students by experts in the respective fields.