RESUMO
Objective: Since medical colleges do not offer lectures on medicine in the first year, it is difficult for students to become enthusiastic about medicine. The purpose of the present study is to discuss the relationship between the PPSS scale and attitudes regarding school work in first year medical students. Methods: The term “ikigai” describes the state in which people have a positive purpose, a sense of being full and social support. The PPSS scale was used to measure a sense of “ikigai ”. Interest in lectures, lateness for lectures, the reading of medical books, and whether or not students had any training in hospitals were separately evaluated. Results: Those students who were interested in lectures, read medical books, and who had experienced training in hospitals scored higher on the PPSS scale than those with the opposite profile. Conclusion: Ego identity is an important factor in the PPSS scale of first year medical students, and the continual relationship between teaching staff and students prompts the acquisition of such ego identity in these medical students.