DECIPHERING THE MOTIVATIONS BEHIND UNDERGRADUATE HEALTHCARE COURSE CHOICES

Abstract

Career choice is part of adult life, and completing high school provides access to undergraduate courses at the university level. Choosing to attend an undergraduate program can be understood as a decision about what a person wants to do professionally and who they want to be in the future, and, therefore, it becomes a milestone in the lives of young people and involves a series of factors that directly influence this decision. The health area, in particular, has aroused great interest among pre-university students,  which justifies the need to understand the motivations that lead them to choose careers in this field. Thus, the contextualization of the theme is relevant given the growing demand for health courses and the importance of understanding the reasons behind this choice. The present study aimed to investigate the motivations that influence the choice of undergraduate courses by pre-university students, with a specific focus on the health area. A bibliographic, qualitative, and narrative research was carried out as a methodology. The databases Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Google Scholar, and The Portal of Journals of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) were used in the period of publication between the years 2018 and 2024. The results show that the choices are influenced by family pressure, social status, employability, experiences, and personal desires linked to the care process. It is concluded that the school, as one of the special environments conducive to the development of students, has the responsibility to develop activities that allow students to determine the possibility of exercising professional activities based on their skills, interests, and understanding of the social situation. In addition, families play a crucial role in providing information, supporting individuals, making professional decisions, and clarifying possible doubts.