Introduction:

The definition of a professional career represents the adolescent’s first major decision and, in general, it occurs in a context of indecision, conflicts and transformations, typical of this stage of life.

Objective:

To understand the motivations that lead adolescents to choose a medical career in Brazil and in Portugal.

Method:

Exploratory study with a qualitative approach, which used open interviews. The participants were 17 Portuguese and 14 Brazilian freshman medical students attending a public university in the north of Portugal and a private university in the northeast of Brazil in 2018. Bardin’s Content Analysis was used for the analysis and interpretation of the speeches, using the thematic modality.

Result:

Two thematic modalities were identified: intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and six cores of meaning: willingness to help others, natural tendency, Medicine as a science, interest in research, influence of models, professional stability/social status.

Conclusion:

Adolescent freshman medical students in Brazil and Portugal showed similar motivations for their professional choice. Intrinsic motivations predominated and the willingness to help others was the most frequent reason for choosing the medical course in both countries.

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