Attitude of medical students towards general practice and general practitioners.

Anita Berlin

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Diversity and Career in Medicine Innovations in Medical Education Primary Care and Health Outcomes

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The stimuli for this work came from the need to identify and understand the origin of students' attitudes towards general practice in the context of undergraduate curriculum reform and concerns about recruitment. AIM: To evaluate attitudes of medical students towards general practice as a specialty and general practitioners (GPs) as doctors and explore factors influencing students' attitudes and intended career choice. DESIGN OF STUDY: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Final-year students at two London medical schools. METHOD: Questionnaires were distributed to 984 students and the results analysed using SPSS analysis. RESULTS: The mean response rate was 72% (700/984). Medical students had a positive attitude towards general practice as a specialty (mean Likert score = 3.90/5, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.86 to 3.94) and towards GPs as doctors (mean Likert score = 3.62/5, 95% CI = 3.59 to 3.66). They rated personal experience of GPs as the most important factor influencing their attitude. Students' attitudes towards general practice and GPs were more positive (P<0.001) in the fifth year. First-year students perceived the media to have a more important role in influencing their attitude than those in the fifth year(P<0.001). General practice was the only career option to significantly increase in popularity between the first and final year(P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Medical students end their undergraduate years with a more positive attitude towards general practice than has been reported elsewhere recently. This may be partially explained by the greater contact with GPs and suggests that efforts by medical schools to ensure a more balanced, community-based curriculum promotes positive attitudes to general practice. The influence of the media on the first years of medical school requiresfurther investigation.

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References

1997The Psychology of Attitudes 1995The effects of medical school curricula, faculty role models, and biomedical research support on choice of generalist physician careers

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2012Medical students’ perceptions and attitudes about family practice: a qualitative research synthesis 2006A future career in general practice? A longitudinal study of medical students and pre-registration house officers 2010Medical students’ and prospective medical students’ uncertainties about career intentions: Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies 2020Why UK medical students change career preferences: an interview study 2013Early community-based family practice elective positively influences medical students’ career considerations – a Pre-post-comparison 2014Medical students’ attitudes towards general practice and factors affecting career choice: a questionnaire study 2007Cultivating interest in family medicine: family medicine interest group reaches undergraduate medical students.2014Influences on final year medical students’ attitudes to general practice as a career

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