Context / probleemstelling of aanleiding

Context/probleemstelling of aanleiding:

If we want to design future-proof undergraduate medical education that keeps students engaged and motivated, we need to better understand how the motivation of medical students works. We currently know little about what influences students’ moment-to-moment motivation, such as motivation for different subjects and teaching methods (e.g., lectures, practicals, self-study and tutor groups), although motivational strength- and quality will arguably vary between these contexts. When demotivated, students can employ strategies to self-motivate¹ in order to keep up with the demanding medical curriculum; however, in order to design education that addresses motivational challenges and supports students in self-motivating, a better understanding of the (situational) experiences of demotivation in medical school is needed.

This qualitative study explores insights from medical students to address the following research questions:

– What are the motivational obstacles faced by medical students.
– How do they, if at all, self-motivate when confronted with these challenges?

Beschrijving van de interventie/innovatie:

So far, 12 Dutch Bachelor Medicine students (year 1-3) of the University of Groningen participated in a one-on-one session where they drew an experience in their medical studies where they felt unmotivated. This so-called Rich Picture method is especially suitable to capture complex situations with all its interacting factors and dimensions that are difficult to express in words—such as emotions.² Students took +/- 20 min to draw this Rich Picture. A +/- 1-hour semi-interview (in Dutch) followed, where we explored the lack of motivation and how they (tried to) motivate themselves in this situation (or not). We are currently analysing the interview transcripts using inductive, reflexive thematic analysis.

Ervaringen/analyse van de implementatie:

Lack of motivation is often related to perceived ‘uselessness’. However, students use this word to describe different phenomena. Our preliminary themes distinguish these different meanings of uselessness and add a new perspective to the motivation literature. We believe this distinction is crucial in diagnosing the cause of motivational problems and choosing the right interventions to solve them. Additionally, we want to discuss the rewarding feeling that students describe when they understand something (about disease, patient experiences or future practise as a doctor) and how this can be harnessed to motivate students.

Lessons learned (implicaties voor de praktijk):

At the conference we will present our finalized themes, including those related to self-motivation, and discuss the implications for educational practise.

Referenties (max. 2):

1. Norouzi, A. et al.Metamotivation in medical students: Explaining motivation regulation strategies in medical students. J. Educ. Health Promot. 11, 157 (2022).

2. Cristancho, S. & Helmich, E. Rich pictures: a companion method for qualitative research in medical education. Med. Educ.53, (2019).