Motivations for a Career in Dentistry among Dental Students and Dental Interns in Kenya

Table 2

Motivational factors.

Motivation factor		Response in percentage
Grouped factor	Individual factors	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
Personal/humanitarian	Personal interest	76.1	17.7	6.2
	Desire to serve/help people	74	18.5	7.6
	Flexible work pattern	63	16.8	20.2
	Desire for self-employment	61.8	25.8	12.4
Financial/societal	Desire for financial security	57.4	25.6	17.1
	Pride in title “doctor”	54	24.6	21.5
	Prestige/social status as dentist	40.7	34.6	24.7
Influence by others	Career talk/information	41.3	20.5	38.2
	Prior experience of treatment	37	15.8	47.3
	Prior exposure to dentistry	31.7	26.2	42.1
	Siblings’/friends’ persuasion	30.3	17.1	52.6
	Family doctor	26	16.4	57.5
	Parents’ persuasion	22	19.6	58.5