We invite licensed Medical Physicians from different medical specialties, practicing for a minimum of one year, to participate in a semi-structured interview to share in-depth information to help aspiring Medical Physicians become better prepared to thrive in Medical School and beyond. If you decide to participate, and we hope you do, we are requesting that you complete the 3 steps outlined below to participate in our study.

The purpose of this study is to conduct a needs analysis in the areas of knowledge and motivation to develop a one-stop comprehensive resource guidebook that will help close knowledge and motivation gaps that prevent students in communities across the globe from achieving their future career aspirations.

The guidebook will provide students with in-depth details about the career of a medical physician. In addition, the guidebook seeks to provide students with the tools to develop their own personal strategic action plan that will serve as a roadmap to achieve their future career goal of becoming a medical physician.

We hope to learn what the knowledge needs (i.e., factual, conceptual, and procedural) and the solution to these knowledge needs are for becoming a medical physician. Additionally, we seek to learn what the motivation needs (i.e., task value, expectancy-value outcome, and self-efficacy) and the solution to these motivation needs are for becoming a medical physician.

This research is being funded by the NAPCA Foundation. 

If you decide to participate in this study, you will meet with a member of the research team for approximately 60-75 minutes to participate in an audio-recorded or video-recorded interview in which you will be asked semi-structured questions related to the profession of a medical physician. The interview will be conducted in English using Zoom, a private and secure virtual video conference platform ( www.Zoom.us). 

Uses of Data Collected

The NAPCA Foundation will use the information you share in the interview in our textbook, the Career Exploration and Planning Guidebook for Future Medical Physicians, which will also be a component of our core curriculum for our Medical School Preparation Program (for college students) and Future Medical Physician Preparation Program (for elementary and secondary students). 

Given your consent, we will also share an edited version of your video interview with students and families that are reading the Career Exploration and Planning Guidebook for Future Medical Physicians. Additionally, the video will be shared with students that participate in our Future Medical Physician Preparation Program (for elementary and secondary students) and Medical School Preparation Program (for college students). The video will be located in NAPCA’s Online Career Exploration and Planning Resource Library (ResourceLibrary.NAPCAonline.org). The intention of the video is to be informative and inspirational to students to help them reach their goal of becoming a medical professional. Should you prefer to sit for an audio-only interview, you may indicate this preference when you register to participate in the study.

Participants may experience direct benefits from reflecting on what inspired them to pursue a career as a medical physician as well as sharing their knowledge and experience with students. Additionally, indirect benefits may be experienced by students as it may increase their knowledge and understanding about the profession of a medical physician. 

Minimal risk is expected for participants involved in this study. However, participants may experience possible discomfort by discussing what brought them into the medical profession as well as any barriers they may have encountered.

Some of the questions asked during the interview may make you feel uneasy or embarrassed. You can choose to skip or stop answering any questions at any time during the interview.