Career Counselling: Medical And Healthcare Students Perspective in Deciding their Career Preferences

Abstract

Counselling of medical and healthcare students on career development is quite a new niche and it is an extensive approach for the preparation of healthcare students for personal, professional and social accomplishment. The paradigmatic shift in counselling research has occurred globally. Most career development researchers across the world have distinguished decisive transformations in their approaches. In current study investigators intention was to identify the concept, rationale and ladder of career counselling sessions needed for medical and health sciences students. In this connection career guidance systems at institutional levels were examined using structured interview format and questionnaire application. A sample of 400 students was selected from various institutes offering medical and related education. 5 point Likert scale was used to evaluate the recommendation for career counselling, problem solving and professional choices. Respondents belief and perception towards career counseling is also important and majority students were in favor of such session i.e., 245 (61.2%) and 261 (65.2%) of total cohort. For other professional choices, career advisors are the most significant source for sorting the career- related issues, despite this fact, most students' rely on their family members for career guidance, particularly those whose parents were highly qualified or those who had little ambition for education. Such studies strongly recommend to develop an efficient and organized model for mentoring career themes and build up a structured map for career coaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]