J Educ Eval Health Prof.  2018;15:10. 10.3352/jeehp.2018.15.10.

Evaluation of a systematic career coaching program for medical students in Korea using the Career Readiness Inventory

• Hur Y
• Cho AR
• Song EJ
• Kim S

• KMID: 2439266
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3352/jeehp.2018.15.10

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to implement a systematic career coaching program for medical students and to evaluate its effectiveness.
METHODS
First-year medical students of Konyang University College of Medicine took part in the FLEX Mentoring II: Career Coaching Program from September to December in 2016 and 2017. This program included 16 weekly sessions, comprising a total of 32 hours. The students took the Career Readiness Inventory before and after the program, as a pre- and post-test of the program. Data from 100 students were used (46 students in 2016, 54 students in 2017) for the evaluation.
RESULTS
Medical students' career readiness pre-test was rated as medium. In particular, many students were at a low level in terms of "˜support from colleagues and peers' (53.0%), "˜career decision' (48.0%), and "˜efforts for job preparation' (60.0%). After 16 sessions of a systematic career coaching program, their career readiness level showed a significant increase except for "˜career decision' (t=4.242, P=0.001) and "˜independence' (t=0.731, P=0.466), a sub-factor of "˜career maturity.'
CONCLUSION
The career readiness level of medical students was not sufficiently high. However, a semester of educational training in a systematic career coaching program helped the students to be better prepared for their career. In particular, the significant reduction in the "˜career decision' variable after the program can be interpreted as indicating that the students changed their behavior to explore and approach their career more seriously and carefully, which also underscores the need for the implementation of career coaching programs in medical schools.

Keyword

Medical education; Career choice; Professional; Mentoring; Korea

MeSH Terms

Career Choice
Education, Medical
Humans
Korea*
Mentors
Schools, Medical
Students, Medical*

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. Differences in career readiness levels between the pre- and post-test T scores.

Reference

References

1. An H, Kim E, Hwang J, Lee S. Analysis of medical students’ needs for development of a career guidance program. Korean J Med Educ. 2014; 26:209–216. https://doi.org/10.3946/kjme.2014.26.3.209.

2. Sastre EA, Burke EE, Silverstein E, Kupperman A, Rymer JA, Davidson MA, Rodgers SM, Fleming AE. Improvements in medical school wellness and career counseling: a comparison of one-on-one advising to an Advisory College Program. Med Teach. 2010; 32:e429–e435. https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2010.498486.

3. Hur Y. Development of a career coaching model for medical students. Korean J Med Educ. 2016; 28:127–136. https://doi.org/10.3946/kjme.2016.19.

4. Hur Y, Cho AR, Kwon M. Development of a systematic career coaching program for medical students. Korean J Med Educ. 2018; 30:41–50. https://doi.org/10.3946/kjme.2018.80.

5. Yoo GS. User guide: career readiness inventory. Eumseong: Korea Employment Information Service;2014.

6. Korea Employment Information Service. Career readiness inventory [Internet]. Eumseong: Korea Employment Information Service;[cited 2018 Apr 7]. Available from: http://www.work.go.kr/consltJobCarpa/jobPsyExam/univJobPreDetail.do.

7. Yoo HY, Park KH, Kim SY, Im SJ. The effectiveness of a career design program for medical students. Korean Med Educ Rev. 2015; 17:131–139. https://doi.org/10.17496/kmer.2015.17.3.131.

8. Howse K, Harris J, Dalgarno N. Canadian national guidelines and recommendations for integrating career advising into medical school curricula. Acad Med. 2017; 92:1543–1548. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000001720.