The Relationship Between Professional Commitment, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation Among Medical Students: A Single-Center Cross-Sectional Study

Aim: We evaluated professional commitment, general self-efficacy, perceived change in motivation, and self-rated academic performance among medical students from all six years of training and examined their interrelationships and associations with selected student characteristics.Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 545 of 1,226 eligible students in years 1–6 at one Turkish medical school. Commitment to Profession of Medicine Scale (CPMS) and General Self-Efficacy Scale–Turkish Form (GSE) total scores were used. Perceived change in motivation was assessed with one researcher-developed three-category item; academic performance was self-rated in a free-text 0–100 field (valid n = 536). Optional free-text explanations were used only for descriptive context. Analyses used Pearson’s chi-square, Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis H, Spearman correlation, simultaneous multiple linear regression, and within-family false discovery rate (FDR) correction.Results: Of 545 participants, 349 (64.0%) were female. Median CPMS and GSE scores were 35 (IQR 29–39) and 61 (IQR 53–67), respectively. A perceived decrease in motivation was reported by 223 students (40.9%); the three-category distribution differed by educational phase (q = 0.001; Cramér’s V = 0.173). The gender difference in CPMS did not meet the FDR threshold (raw p = 0.047; q = 0.053). CPMS and GSE were positively correlated (ρ = 0.347; 95% CI 0.264–0.425; q < 0.001). In adjusted models, sixth-year status and non-voluntary choice of medical school were associated with lower CPMS. Female gender was associated with lower GSE, whereas self-rated academic performance and CPMS were positively associated with GSE.Conclusion: Professional commitment was lowest in the final year, and a perceived decrease in motivation was more frequent during clinical training. These cross-sectional findings support monitoring and targeted support at major educational transitions, especially the final year, but do not establish within-student decline or causality. Multicenter longitudinal studies using validated motivation measures and institutional academic records are needed.