Ideality and reality collision: how perceived professional environment shapes Chinese medical undergraduates’ subject interest

作者：Guobiao Li, Yi Yang, Liying Guo, Guojing Zhao, Shijie Cui · 发表于：BMC Medical Education · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12909-025-07952-8 · 研究领域：Diversity and Career in Medicine、Innovations in Medical Education、Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout

BACKGROUND: Subject interest among medical students-an intrinsic motivation reflecting specialty preference-typically exhibits considerable variation. As curricular factors offer limited explanations for changes in college students' interests, existing studies have gradually shifted the research horizon from the curriculum environment to the overall professional environment. This study aimed to examine how undergraduate medical students' perceived professional environment affects subject interest, with professional identity formation analyzed as a mediating factor. METHODS: In this study, we classified medical students' professional environments into three domains: medical school environment, regulatory environment, and social environment. Using a sample of 1,648 clinical medicine students from 14 universities across 6 Chinese provinces, we assessed: (1) the effects of perceived environmental factors on subject interest, and (2) the mediating role of professional identity formation. RESULTS: All perceived professional environments significantly predict subject interest, and students' professional identities mediate the relationship between the perceived professional environment and subject interest. Although perceived medical school and the social environment positively predict students' professional identity, the perceived regulatory environment negatively predicts professional identity. Heterogeneity analysis indicated that male students and those with lower grades, higher ...