What happens to medical students who complete an honours year in public health and epidemiology?

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Around one-third of medical students in the UK take an intercalated honours degree in addition to their basic undergraduate course. The honours year has been reported to have a major influence on subsequent career choice; honours students show greater interest in research and laboratory medicine careers and less in general practice and public health.1,2 AIMS: To examine the career choice of Nottingham medical students who completed an honours year in public health and epidemiology (including general practice). METHODS: Postal questionnaire and telephone follow-up of a cohort of 266 students who entered the honours year in Public Health and Epidemiology between 1973 and 1993. RESULTS: Career information was available on 203 students; 78% (195) of those are currently employed in medicine. 44% were working in general practice (expected 40-45%) and 8% in public health medicine (expected 2%). Overall 19% (expected 4-11%) had chosen academic careers including nine of the 15 choosing an academic career in public health. The majority (60%) reported that the honours year had influenced their career choice, while 55% reported that the year had increased their likelihood of choosing an academic career. CONCLUSIONS: The honours year does encourage entry into academic and research careers in general and the type of honours year department strongly influences the subsequent choice of specialty.

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