Eda Gürsu ŞAHİN
Journal of Basic and Clinical Health Sciences - 2026;10(1):21-31
Purpose: This study examines the motivation of dentistry students for specialization and its relationship with the Career Futures Inventory (CFI). Career choice is a crucial decision that impacts an individual's future and societal contribution, making personality-aligned career planning essential for informed decision-making. Material and Methods: Data were collected through surveys from students enrolled in eleven dental faculties across Türkiye. The collected data were analyzed using RStudio Version 2023.12.0+369 (Posit Software, PBC). Various statistical tests were conducted to explore the relationships between participants' demographic characteristics, specialization tendencies and career future perceptions. Results: The findings indicated that students had high career adaptability and career optimism scores based on their CFI assessment, while their perceived knowledge of the labor market remained at a moderate level. The overall CFI score was above average and showed a positive correlation with the specialization tendency score. Conclusion: Personalized and rational career counseling services are believed to contribute to the development of professionally satisfied individuals who can make valuable contributions to both themselves and society. Furthermore, it is suggested that adapting such measures to diverse cultural contexts may lead to universally applicable insights.
