Study to find out reasons for opting medical profession and regret after joining MBBS course among first year students of a medical college in Andhra Pradesh

Background: Many students in India are influenced by parental pressure to pursue a career in medicine. It has been consistently observed that a notable number of medical students later regret their career choice. This study aims to delve into the reasons behind the choice of a medical career, preferences for various teaching methods, causes of inattentiveness in classes, and the level of regret experienced by students after opting for this path. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 first year medical students with a pre-tested, semi structured questionnaire. Data collected was analysed using SPSS software. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 19.13±1.18 and most of them were females (57.6%). The majority (72.2%) of students opted MBBS out of self-interest. To serve the society (21.2%) was the most common motivational factor to choose MBBS. 14.6% of the subjects were having feelings of regret for choosing the medical profession. Conclusions: Self-interest was the major reason for opting MBBS. Fulfilling parent’s wishes was also observed as one of the reasons for opting MBBS. Most students considered interactive lectures as their preferred teaching method, though many also preferred demonstrations and video lectures. Almost one third of the students were having feelings of regret for selecting the medical profession.