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Abstract
The war in Ukraine has affected the educational process for future doctors. Medical students have faced unprecedented challenges such as the destruction of medical infrastructure, an increase in the number of people injured due to military operations, limitations in practical training due to distance learning, and a high level of perceived stress. High self-esteem and students having concrete professional plans definitely play a crucial role in coping with the challenges associated with the ongoing war. The aim of the research was to diagnose the self-esteem of medical students in Ukraine and to characterize their educational and professional plans. The analyses aimed to show how self-esteem conditions the plans of the respondents. The study involved 106 medical students from Ternopil National Medical University. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a self-constructed questionnaire for examining educational and professional plans were used. The analysis of the results showed that the majority of students have an average level of self-esteem and educational and professional plans with a varying degree of specificity. Plans related to emigration are not dominant among the respondents. It was demonstrated that self-esteem conditions students’ educational and professional plans to some extent. Individuals with high self-esteem show greater specificity and detail in their professional plans. The war definitely had an impact on the students’ educational and professional plans. In these difficult times, it is important to support students and provide them with opportunities for development and assistance in professional career planning.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/j.2025.38.3.61-77
Date of publication: 2026-01-30 08:09:44
Date of submission: 2025-08-01 14:47:43
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