Exploring motivational and contextual factors influencing medical career choice: a theory-informed study.

Background: Career choice in medicine represents a multidimensional decision influenced by motivational, emotional, and sociocultural dynamics. Understanding how these factors interact is essential for developing educational environments that nurture sustained professional commitment. Drawing on the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and the Expectancy-Value Theory (EVT), this study explored how self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, task values, and contextual supports shape medical career motivation among first-year medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative design was used, involving 297 first-year medical students at a public university in western Türkiye. Data were collected online and anonymously during the 2022-2023 academic year, using a researcher-developed and pilot-validated questionnaire comprising 33 items assessing motivational and contextual determinants of career choice. Questionnaire items were structured according to the constructs of SCCT and EVT. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses (t-tests, ANOVA, Results: Students' strongest motivations were intrinsic and self-efficacy-based-particularly personal desire to study medicine, belief in being a good physician, and moral satisfaction-corresponding to SCCT's self-efficacy and EVT's intrinsic value dimensions. Job security and professional prestige also received high ratings, reflecting positive outcome expectations and utility value. In contrast, environmental barriers (e.g., workload, media influence, and perceived low income) had comparatively lower influence. Female students reported higher intrinsic and altruistic motivations, whereas male students emphasized financial stability and outcome expectations. Parental education and age were also associated with higher efficacy and expectancy beliefs, aligning with SCCT's view of environmental support as a reinforcing factor. Conclusion: The findings suggest that intrinsic motivation and perceived competence outweigh external constraints in shaping early medical career intentions. Framing medical career choice through SCCT and EVT offers a comprehensive understanding of how emotional, motivational, and cultural factors intersect in professional identity formation. These insights can inform interventions that strengthen self-efficacy, moral engagement, and contextual support in medical education.