MOTIVATIONAL REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE SPECIALTY OF DENTISTRY AS A PROFESSIONAL CAREER AND FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHOICE OF SPECIALTY AMONG GRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE FACULTY OF DENTISTRY

Currently, there are many professional careers, so the choice of profession plays an important role in shaping the competence of the future student. The purpose of this study is to assess the factors that influence the choice of dentistry as a career, as well as the choice of a future narrow specialty after basic education among senior students of the Faculty of Dentistry. In the course of the study, a mock questionnaire was created, which contained 50 questions of the sociopsychological factor. The questionnaire form was uploaded to MOOD from the Student Learning Forum (e-learning), then students were asked to fill out the form anonymously and send it back. Of the total number of students participating in the survey, 90.5% of students completed the questionnaire in full, as they see their future. 67% of students chose dentistry on their own, 20.1% - because of family pressure and only 12.8%-because of their performance in high school. As a result, orthopedic dentistry is a popular specialty among students who sought to pursue postgraduate education (23.8%), while therapeutic dentistry ranked second in popularity (22.7%), and maxillofacial surgery ranked third (11%). Thus, the majority of students surveyed believe that they received enough motivation to decide on future plans for a professional career as a dentist, while 40% of students took into account the advice of teachers, academic performance in a narrow field from teachers, which had the greatest impact on the choice of further profession, and not the recommendations of practicing dentists, family members or friends.