Background: High schools are increasingly populated by students from the new generation known as Generation Z (Gen Z). This study aims to investigate why Gen Z students choose to study medicine and how they perceive their future careers.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study employed a descriptive and analytical design and was conducted using convenience sampling on fourth-sixth-grade high school students in Sakon Nakhon town and surrounding regions in upper northeast Thailand. A total of 74 students voluntarily participated in the study. Data were collected throughout the 2023 academic year using a researcher-developed questionnaire containing 33 questions about demographic and motivational factors. The collected data were analyzed using Stata MP 14.0 software with t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results: The students were aged 15 to 19 (mean: 17.0 ± 0.914 years), with 12 males (16.2%) and 62 females (83.8%). Most students were from outside the municipality (n=57, 77%). Of the total participants, 68 (93.1%) students were in grades 5 and 6. They were well-motivated to attend. Male students were more professionally motivated than females (4.75 ± 0.178 vs. 4.46 ± 0.096, P=0.004) and paid more attention to economic, social, and environmental aspects (3.88 ± 0.598 vs. 3.79 ± 0.636, P=0.003). No significant differences were observed in the personal aspect (4.17 ± 0.419 vs. 4.07 ± 0.305, P=0.675) or curriculum and institution aspects (4.70 ± 0.084 vs. 4.43 ± 0.102, P=0.841) between the sexes.
Conclusion: In contrast to earlier generations, Gen Z students from the rural area of Thailand who wish to pursue medicine demonstrate higher levels of intrinsic drive, benevolence, and performance readiness. Due to the study's sample limitations, the results may not be generalizable to other populations.