Motivation comparative characteristics of students studying in medical specialties in medical universities

Relevance. The Far Eastern Federal District is a territory of advanced development, requiring a large number of specialists. Healthcare work is one of the most complex and demanding jobs, with high psychological stress, requiring attentiveness, endurance, and a high work ethic. Medical education has its own specifics; even in their first years, at least 80 % of students face a range of challenges: stress, sleep deprivation, fatigue, and other factors, which have negative consequences for learning, behavior, and communication, and impact their health. Building a motivational system is one of the most important steps in studying at medical universities. A highly motivated student will be engaged in the learning process, and therefore will study voluntarily and actively master the curriculum. Therefore, studying the motivation of medical students at medical schools is relevant. The aim of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of the interaction between motivation to learn and the health status of medical students at medical universities in the Far East. Materials and Methods. Within the framework of the educational, scientific and industrial cluster «Far Eastern» on the basis of cooperation agreements, within the framework of social partnership of educational organizations of higher education and interaction of universities of the Far Eastern region, the following universities participated in the study: Far Eastern State Medical University (FESM), Amur State Medical Academy (ASMA), North-Eastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov (NEFU), Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), Pacific State Medical University (TSMU). The health status of 2,676 first- to fifth-year students aged 17-24 was studied. The study utilized health group data obtained as a result of medical examinations and preventive checkups, the academic motivation scales (AMS) questionnaire, and self-assessment using a developed individual questionnaire. Students from Tver State Medical University, Far Eastern Federal University, and Far Eastern State Medical University completed the survey in the university classroom using printed questionnaires, while students from North-Eastern Federal University and Altai State Medical Academy participated in the survey using Google forms online. The Statistica 12.0 software package and the analytical functions of Microsoft Office Excel were used for mathematical and statistical processing. Results and Discussion. The conducted comparative characteristics of motivation for learning of students in medical specialties in medical universities of the Far East revealed a high intrinsic motivation for learning from 3.4 to 4.9. The highest values in assessing the motivation to achieve were among students of NEFU - 4.07, in TSMU and ASMA this criterion was 4.0. A relationship between the level of external and internal motivation with the health status of students was revealed. Students with health group 3 showed significant (group 3B p = 0.55) cognitive motivation, strong, almost absolute (p = 0.9) - external motivation and high motivation for achievement. Introjected motivation was weak (from p = 0.2 to p = 0.344) and did not depend on the health group. Conclusion. The relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for learning and health status among medical students at medical universities was identified and studied.