Social adaptation in the system of secondary vocational education

BACKGROUND: Medical professions have always been in demand and are socially important. Future specialists should develop not only professional competencies and practical skills but also social and professional values. This process faces certain difficulties and influencing factors. As an agent of professional socialization, the secondary medical education system should create conditions that foster the development of both personal and professional qualities in medical specialists, ensuring their consistent advancement in the process of socialization. AIM: The study aimed to identify the factors influencing the success or failure of professional socialization within the secondary vocational education system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The survey was conducted among students at Khabarovsk Medical College and its branches. These institutions include 2320 students across six educational programs. A total of 378 respondents were interviewed using Google Forms questionnaires. Data analysis and generalization methods were used to address the objectives. Descriptive statistics provided by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and Microsoft Excel were employed to process the data and analyze the study materials. RESULTS: The data analysis included the identification of external and internal social factors that contributed to professional socialization of specialists during their secondary medical education. Internal (subjective) factors include motivation to recognize the significance of work, the extent of expression of motivational attitudes (e.g., a desire to assist or treat people), vocational aptitude for the profession, and satisfaction with professional education results and conditions. The external (objective) factors include social, economic, and organizational influences. CONCLUSION: Contemporary professional socialization is influenced by novel trends in the advancement of secondary medical education, which is associated with the qualitatively different approaches to acquiring general professional, vocational, and cultural competencies. The influence of external and internal factors on professional socialization within secondary vocational education was revealed, with the aim of identifying the factors that contribute to its success or failure. The most important internal factors for the respondents are desire to help people, vocational aptitude for the medical profession, interest in medical specialties, and awareness of the profession’s social importance. The external factors influencing the educational process include high mental workload and organizational aspects of the education.