Attitudes of medical students to general practice: a multinational cross-sectional survey.
General practitioners
medical school
motivation
primary health care
questionnaire design
students
Journal
Family practice
ISSN: 1460-2229
Titre abrégé: Fam Pract
Pays: England
ID NLM: 8500875
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
17 06 2021
17 06 2021
Historique:
pubmed:
1
12
2020
medline:
26
10
2021
entrez:
30
11
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
A shortage of general practitioners (GPs) is common to many European countries. To counteract this, it is essential to understand the factors that encourage or discourage medical students from choosing to become a GP. To evaluate medical students' attitudes towards general practice and to identify factors that discourage them from considering a career as a GP. In this multinational cross-sectional online survey, 29 284 students from nine German, four Austrian and two Slovenian universities were invited to answer a questionnaire consisting of 146 closed and 13 open-ended items. Of the 4486 students that responded (response rate: 15.3%), 3.6% wanted to become a GP, 48.1% were undecided and 34.6% did not want to be a GP. Significant predictors for interest in becoming a GP were higher age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.06; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02-1.10], positive evaluation of the content of a GP's work (OR = 4.44; 95% CI = 3.26-6.06), organizational aspects (OR = 1.42; 95% CI = 1.13-1.78), practical experience of general practice (OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.08-2.56) and the country of the survey [Slovenian versus German students (Reference): OR = 2.19; 95% CI = 1.10-4.38; Austrian versus German students (Reference): OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.32-0.79]. Strategies to convince undecided students to opt for a career as a GP should include a positive representation of a GP's work and early and repeated experience of working in a general practice during medical school.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
A shortage of general practitioners (GPs) is common to many European countries. To counteract this, it is essential to understand the factors that encourage or discourage medical students from choosing to become a GP.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate medical students' attitudes towards general practice and to identify factors that discourage them from considering a career as a GP.
METHODS
In this multinational cross-sectional online survey, 29 284 students from nine German, four Austrian and two Slovenian universities were invited to answer a questionnaire consisting of 146 closed and 13 open-ended items.
RESULTS
Of the 4486 students that responded (response rate: 15.3%), 3.6% wanted to become a GP, 48.1% were undecided and 34.6% did not want to be a GP. Significant predictors for interest in becoming a GP were higher age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.06; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02-1.10], positive evaluation of the content of a GP's work (OR = 4.44; 95% CI = 3.26-6.06), organizational aspects (OR = 1.42; 95% CI = 1.13-1.78), practical experience of general practice (OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.08-2.56) and the country of the survey [Slovenian versus German students (Reference): OR = 2.19; 95% CI = 1.10-4.38; Austrian versus German students (Reference): OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.32-0.79].
CONCLUSION
Strategies to convince undecided students to opt for a career as a GP should include a positive representation of a GP's work and early and repeated experience of working in a general practice during medical school.
Identifiants
pubmed: 33251543
pii: 6011164
doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmaa126
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
265-271Informations de copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.