[Determinants of the development of professional patterns in medical students]

This paper reports the preliminary results of a research work aimed at establishing some determinants of the development of professional patterns in medical students. We present the results of a cohort of medical students in which we explored the type and frequency of general and specialized reading, family and friendship ties within the profession and some educational elements. These three aspects are associated with some aspects of professional patterns. The first statistical estimations show a strong influence of family ties. The presence of a family member or a close friend related with the medical profession strongly influenced the development of traditional beliefs about the medical profession, its practice, and the features of contents and areas of knowledge. Reading of newspapers and specialized journals by the students was used to explore cultural socialization, and this was found not to influence definitely the patterns of the profession. As for the influence of some educational elements, their participation is not clear, and further studies are needed to disclose it. Finally, we point out some questions emerging from this first approach to this information, and future research lines to be addressed.