Pharmacy Student's Reasons for Choosing Pharmacy as a Career and Changes in Their Motivation during the Course

Pharmacy faculty members at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences have observed that pharmacy students enter this profession highly motivated، but later develop the attitude of “just learn what is necessary to pass the exam” as they progress through the curriculum. For pharmacy students to become a lifelong learner having a motivation to make an effort towards educational goals is a must. We sought to evaluate pharmacy students'' motivations in selecting pharmacy career and track factors which may affect their incentives through the curriculum. A researcher- made questionnaire developed according to existing resources and previous studies. Cronbach''s alpha was used as the measure of reliability for Likert type scales questionnaire and it was validated by a panel of experts and pharmacy students. Two hundred and seventy students were enrolled in the study، 128 of them were girls and 83 were boys. Six students did not return the questionnaire. The first and most important motives for choosing the pharmacy field was the social status pharmacists have in the community. Suitable salary، getting a degree، giving service to the community، interest in chemistry courses، family and friends'' recommendations، and extensive areas for research were the next motives. Scores on the survey instrument indicated that all of the pharmacy students initially had high motivation for pharmacy field; however، this was declined as the course progressed. Overall، the majority of students were satisfied by choosing this field and believed that they would reach their predetermined goals.