Identificador 3.3.1: Identificación de errores

Some participants assert that their career interests are highly related to their personal experiences when they were young. Mrs. Feng (Doctor, ACP, Married) mentions her interest in doctors when she was a young girl:

When I was young, I had frequently tonsillitis. I went to the hospital to see doctors many times, so I was very impressed. I thought it would be great to be a doctor, and I chose to study medicine at university…

Similarly, Mrs. Wang (Doctor, ACP, TCM, Married) indicates her strong interest in medicine:

I was interested in medicine, but I lacked courage when I was a little girl. I thought that it was difficult for me to study Western medicine because of the anatomy and surgery, so I studied Chinese traditional medicine... My mother told me that I had been sick since I was born... I went to the hospital frequently for injections until I was two or three years old. This left a deep impression on me. But anyway, when I decided to study medicine at university, my parents agreed and supported my decision!

Some participants shared their understandings about the meaning of a career in medicine. Mrs. Sun (Doctor, ACP, Married) expresses that a doctor should be "sacred" and “responsible”:

I don’t think it is easy to be a doctor, and I don’t think it is interesting. Doctors should have professional skills and ethical beliefs to cure patients. We also need to believe in saving lives, and dedicate ourselves to treating the sick and wounded.

Similarly, Mrs. Wu (Doctor, RP, Married) said,

I felt that the doctor was very sacred. I thought this profession was very good, because I could save lives and rescue the wounded8_{. I believed a}

doctor was omnipotent when I was a little girl. Even if a patient's condition was serious, he/she could get better after treatment by doctors!

8 _{A common word used in China to describe the special character of doctors and nurses: jiu si fu}

Some other participants stated that they might not have wanted to be a doctor originally, but their interests in medicine have grown since they became doctors. The individual’s original career interests are likely to form and change at work, and with the changing of time, environment, and experiences (Savickas et al. 2009). This is a dynamic process, not static. However, given that medicine involves a long period of education and training it is surprising to find participants are willing to enter this process, despite at first having little interest in the profession.

Mrs. Wei (Doctor, ACP, Pediatrics, Married) indicates that being an engineer was her first choice when she thought about future occupations, but she felt really happy and lucky to be a doctor in the end:

Tracking back to my occupational choice, I think everything is down to fate. If I studied engineering at university, I may not have liked it and done well... I think I was very good at medical studies, and my parents also think so. It is very interesting to work for my child patients, because I like children. It is also very meaningful to be able to cure their illness, and help them to be healthy...

Mrs. Yang (Doctor, CP, Hospital manager, Married) says that she did not originally want to be a doctor. Her parents were both doctors. They were very busy with work so they had no time to take care of her. She felt lonely during her childhood, so she did not want the same situation in her own family:

My parents were working in a church hospital. I knew they were very busy all day, and they often came back late... They spent lots of time on and were dedicated to their medical careers, but they spent little time

with me. They recruited two babysitters to look after me. They made delicious food for me and played with me. But I didn’t like them because I wanted to stay with my parents! My parents often went to the hospital at night because of emergencies, so I was often awakened at midnight . . . In my mind, they had no leisure time! When they finished dinner, they read medical books and discussed what they had learned. They never took me to the park or on holiday! … At that time, I thought (after I grew up) I would never be a doctor!

Mrs. Yang understands her parents’ work after being a doctor herself. She understands that a doctor’s duty is to save lives and help the sick and wounded. For her, being a doctor is different from other occupations, as it is more sacred and requires dedication:

My parents have had a big impact on me. The doctors of their generation were wholeheartedly committed, which is very different from the current doctors. We are still a far cry from the older generation of doctors! I want to relax and watch TV after work, but my parents read medical books and did research. They did not go to sleep before 12 o’clock at night. They donated a lot of money to charity and bought books for the children at the hospital. They cured the elderly people and children and did not ask for any money from them. They often said to me that a doctor should be kind to people.

In fact, Mrs. Yang’s ambivalence about doctors is part of the process by which her career interests are produced. Family background has an important influence on individuals’ behaviors as well as their career choices (Li, Hou, and Jia 2015; Powell and Greenhaus 2012). Savickas (2004) indicated that vocational self-conceptualising originates in the home as children learn to view themselves and the world through their

parents’ eyes.