Autotelic vs instrumental motivation of doctors and their medical specialty choice in relation to sense of coherence.
OBJECTIVE
Analysis and comparison of two types of motivation (autotelic and non-autotelic) which are behind the choice of medical specialisation by doctors in relation to their sense of coherence.


METHODS
Questionnaire method was used in the study. The study included a group of 86 graduates of the Faculty of Medicine of the Jagiellonian University, who have completed postgraduate internships at the Department of Haematology and Oncology, Department of Gynaecology of the Jagiellonian University and the L. Rydygier hospital in Krakow in 2010-2012. Statistical analyses were performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 21. The level of significance was alpha = 0.05.


RESULTS
It has been shown that doctors are more frequently characterised by the autotelic type of motivation. It has also been proven that there is a relationship between the male sex of the surveyed doctors and their autotelic type of motivation. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that there is a correlation between the comprehensibility component of the sense of coherence and the male sex. It has been also demonstrated that there is a correlation between meaningfulness component of the sense of coherence and the choice of surgical specialisation.


CONCLUSIONS
Autotelic motivation prevails when choosing a medical specialty and this tendency is more noticeable in men than in women. The meaningfulness component of SoC plays a regulatory role in making career decisions related to the greater physical and mental pressure put on doctors. The observed differences in the types of motivation and the size of the components of the sense of coherence in groups of surveyed doctors - men and women - encourage further observations of these relationships on a larger population.
Instytut Psychologii Wydziału Filozoficznego Akademii Ignatianum w Krakowie.
Marcin J
MJ
Jabłoński
Katedra i Klinika Hematologii UJ CM w Krakowie.
Magdalena
M
Szot-Parda
Instytut Psychologii Wydziału Filozoficznego Akademii Ignatianum w Krakowie.
Tomasz
T
Grzegorek
Instytut Psychologii Wydziału Filozoficznego Akademii Ignatianum w Krakowie.
Jacek
J
Prusak
Katedra Ginekologii i Położnictwa UJ CM w Krakowie.
Robert
R
Jach
Katedra Ginekologii i Położnictwa UJ CM w Krakowie.
Ewa
E
Posadzka
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010551:Personality; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D011044:Poland; D060685:Sense of Coherence; D013038:Specialization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
choice of medical specialization; motivation of doctors; sense of coherence (SOC)