title: Speciality interests and career calling to medicine among first-year medical students.
abstract: The construct of calling has recently been applied to the vocation of medicine. We explored whether medical students endorse the presence of a calling or a search for a calling and how calling related to initial speciality interest. 574 first-year medical students (84 % response rate) were administered the Brief Calling Survey and indicated their speciality interest. For presence of a calling, the median response was mostly true for: 'I have a calling to a particular kind of work' and moderately true for: 'I have a good understanding of my calling as it applies to my career'. For search for a calling, median response was mildly true: 'I am trying to figure out my calling in my career' and 'I am searching for my calling as it applies to my career'. Mann-Whitney U (p < 0.05) results indicate that students interested in primary care (n = 185) versus non-primary care (n = 389) are more likely to endorse the presence of a calling. Students were more likely to endorse the presence of a calling rather than a search for a calling, with those interested in primary care expressing stronger presence of a calling to medicine.
authors.affiliation: Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Academic Affairs, 290P White Hall, Dayton, OH, 45401-0927, USA. nicole.borges@wright.edu.
authors.forename: Nicole J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Borges
authors.affiliation: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
authors.forename: R Stephen
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Manuel
authors.affiliation: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Duffy