An application of Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale – Short Form among Vietnamese medical students

BACKGROUND: Choosing the right career can be one of the most crucial decisions in one's life. Nevertheless, career decisions are filled with uncertainty and daunting challenges. Therefore, finding ways to assist students to better understand and cope with these difficult career decisions is a worthy topic of research. This research was aimed to examine the career decision-making self-efficacy of medical students’ using a version of the Career Decision Self–Efficacy Scale–Short Form (CDSES-SF) that was translated and adapted with permission to the Vietnamese context. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive study was carried out at Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy with a total number of 326 questionnaires distributed to freshmen students and 314 questionnaires collected back. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to finalize the structure of the Vietnamese Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale– Short Form (VCDSES-SF). RESULTS: EFA resulted in the five named factors or subscales of the VCDSES-SF with 23 items: Occupational Information and Planning (7 items), Self-Assessment and Career Readiness (6 items), Confidence to Change Careers (3 items), Fit My Lifestyle and Interests (4 items), and Goal Selection (3 items). CONCLUSIONS: A number of empirical studies undertaken in various cultural contexts have found different models of career decision-making self-efficacy measurement. The present study found that although the VCDSES-SF is somewhat different than the original CDSES-SF, the resultant measure is a reliable and effective tool that can be used within the Vietnamese context.