Background: The decision to opt medical profession is important and depends on many factors. Understanding the motivations for choosing the medical profession can shed light on the aspirations, values, and influences that lead people down this noble path. There are various factors which effects the decision of students while choosing a career. Hence, by identifying them more and more dedicated students should be attracted to this profession. The study was planned to determine the factors affecting the decision of students while choosing the medical profession as a career.

Methodology: It was a cross-sectional survey conducted in May till August 2023 at LMDC (Lahore Medical and Dental College), Lahore, Pakistan. Informed consent was taken, and a structured questionnaire was used. The students were asked to rate the influence of each component in their decision to opt for the medical profession in Likert-scale format having five options scoring from 1 to 5, with score=1 representing strongly disagree to score=5 representing strongly agree. For data analysis, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22 was used. For qualitative variables frequency and percentages and for quantitative variables mean scores along with standard deviation was calculated.

Results: Two hundred and forty-six Medical College students participated in the study. The main motivating factors with a mean Likert score >3 were the desire to help patients and save lives, the prestigiousness of the profession, to serve humanity, interest in medical studies, job security, self-employment, and independence opportunities, and the ability to use hi-tech equipment. Social media influences, flexibility in working hours, and belonging to a family of doctors were the least common factors with a mean Likert score <2. The top 3 other professions that the students were interested in are as follows: IT and Computer / Engineer: 19.1% Business and Economics: 15.0% Lawyer: 13.8%.

Conclusion:

Factors like the desire to serve humanity (mean score: 3.88±1.16), the perceived prestige of the profession (mean score: 4.13±1.09), the passion for saving lives (mean score: 4.10±1.08), and the aspiration to help patients (mean score: 4.20±0.93) emerge as strong drivers. Additionally, aspects such as job security (mean score: 2.96), the appeal of self-employment and independence (mean score: 3.74±1.22), and the allure of international job opportunities (mean score: 3.15±1.47) also contribute significantly to the decision-making process. This study will enhance the understanding of policymakers and educators about motivational factors, which is the first step in formulating policies to attract more people to this profession. Hence dealing with the shortage of health professionals to improve human health across nations.

Index Terms- Career choice, medical profession, motivations, medical education, students