Lukandu Ochiba M, Koskei Lilian C, Dimba Elizabeth O
Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine, Pathology and Radiology, School of Dentistry, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.
Dental Department, Kericho County Referral Hospital, Kericho, Kenya.
Int J Dent. 2020 Jul 29;2020:1017979. doi: 10.1155/2020/1017979. eCollection 2020.
A number of factors have been cited as determinants for choosing a career in dentistry around the globe. The purpose of this study was to determine motivations for a career in dentistry among dental students and dental interns in Kenya. This was a cross-sectional study where 293 individuals participated by filling and returning self-administered questionnaires. The mean age of all respondents was 22.3 years. Overall, 59.5% of the respondents had selected dentistry as their preferred career at the end of high school. Majority (76.1%) of the respondents agreed that personal interest in dentistry was an important motivating factor for them. This was followed closely by a desire to help or serve people (74%), a desire for a flexible work schedule (63%), and an aspiration to be self-employed (61.8%). There was no difference between males and females regarding these as motivating factors. On the other hand, among factors that the respondents felt had the lowest influence on their choice of dentistry was parental influence, where only 22% of the respondents indicated that this was a motivating factor for them. Other potential motivating factors such as influence by friends and siblings (30.3%) as well as career talk and guidance (41.3%) were also ranked low. In general, the respondents indicated that they were motivated much more by personal and humanitarian factors, when compared to financial and societal factors.
在全球范围内，有许多因素被认为是选择牙科职业的决定因素。本研究的目的是确定肯尼亚牙科学生和牙科实习医生选择牙科职业的动机。这是一项横断面研究，293人通过填写并返还自填式问卷参与其中。所有受访者的平均年龄为22.3岁。总体而言，59.5%的受访者在高中结束时选择牙科作为他们首选的职业。大多数（76.1%）受访者认为对牙科的个人兴趣是他们的一个重要激励因素。紧随其后的是帮助或服务他人的愿望（74%）、对灵活工作时间表的渴望（63%）以及自主创业的愿望（61.8%）。在这些激励因素方面，男性和女性之间没有差异。另一方面，在受访者认为对他们选择牙科影响最小的因素中，父母的影响排在其中，只有22%的受访者表示这是他们的一个激励因素。其他潜在的激励因素，如朋友和兄弟姐妹的影响（30.3%）以及职业讲座和指导（41.3%），排名也很低。总体而言，与经济和社会因素相比，受访者表示他们更多地受到个人和人道主义因素的激励。
