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Predictors of a positive attitude of medical students towards general practice - a survey of three Bavarian medical faculties.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE: Germany is witnessing an increasing shortage of general practitioners (GPs). The aim was to determine predictors of the job-related motivation of medical students of three medical faculties with different institutionalisation of general practice as an academic discipline. METHODS: Medical students were surveyed with a standardised questionnaire about their attitudes towards general practice and their motivation to work as a GP in different working conditions. Predictors for positive attitudes and motivation were calculated using logistic regression models. RESULTS: 940 (15.2%) out of 6182 medical students from three Bavarian medical faculties participated in an online survey. 585 (62.7%) were female, and the average age was 25.0 (standard deviation 3.7). The average grade of a university-entrance diploma was 1.6 (standard deviation 0.5). 718 (76.4%) could imagine working as a GP. However, they favoured being employed within another organisation and not having their own private practice (65.5% vs. 35.1%). "Presence of a professorship of general practice" was associated with a positive attitude towards general practice (OR 1.57; 95%CI 1.13-2.417). Motivation for working as a GP was associated with "being female" (OR 2.56; 95%CI 1.80-3.56) and "presence of a professorship of general practice" (OR 1.68; 95%CI 1.14-2.46). Having a lower grade for one's university-entrance diploma was associated with a higher preference to work in one's own practice (OR 1.39; 95%CI 1.02-1.90). CONCLUSION: A high amount of medical students were open-minded towards general practice. However, they favoured employment within an organization over working in their own practice. Institutionalisation of general practice as an academic discipline might be of importance to gain positive attitudes towards general practice and motivate medical students to work as a GP.

SUBMITTER: Schneider A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3839073 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Predictors of a positive attitude of medical students towards general practice - a survey of three Bavarian medical faculties.

Schneider Antonius A Karsch-Völk Marlies M Rupp Alica A Fischer Martin R MR Drexler Hans H Schelling Jörg J Berberat Pascal P

GMS Zeitschrift fur medizinische Ausbildung 20131115 4

<h4>Objective</h4>Germany is witnessing an increasing shortage of general practitioners (GPs). The aim was to determine predictors of the job-related motivation of medical students of three medical faculties with different institutionalisation of general practice as an academic discipline.<h4>Methods</h4>Medical students were surveyed with a standardised questionnaire about their attitudes towards general practice and their motivation to work as a GP in different working conditions. Predictors f ...[more]

PMID: 24282448

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Project description:BackgroundAn increase in the demand for general practitioners is expected in many countries, but only a minority of medical students consider a career in general practice. More detailed and up-to-date knowledge about medical student's perception of general practice would be helpful for efforts to encourage medical students to consider a career in general practice.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional single center survey among Dutch medical students to evaluate their perception of general practice at three different stages in their study: Ba1: first-year bachelor students; Ba3: third-year bachelor students; Ma3: third-year master students. The impact of different factors on their attitudes and perceptions was quantified. A multivariate logistic regression was performed with 'interest in general practice' as the outcome variable.ResultsThe median age for Ba1 was 18 (IQR: 18-19) and 71.5% were female, for Ba3 the median age was 20 (IQR: 20-21) and 70.6% were female and for Ma3 the median age was 25 years (IQR: 24-26) and 73.3% were female. On average, 31.2% of the respondents had a migration background. The mean response rate for this study was 77.1%. Of the participating Ba1 students (n = 340) only 22.4% considered working as a GP after medical school; for Ba3 students (n = 231) this percentage was 33.8%, and for Ma3 students (n = 210) it was significantly higher at 70.5%; in the final multivariate model this corresponded to an odds ratio (OR) of 4.3 (95%-CI:2.6-6.9) compared to Ba1 students. The strongest predictor in the final model was the opinion that general practice provides a pleasant working environment (OR 9.5; 95%-CI: 6.2-14.5).ConclusionThis study showed that multiple factors are significantly related to medical students' interest in general practice. Although students believed that general practice does not have a high status within the medical profession, they acknowledged the social importance and the pleasant working environment of general practice. Knowledge obtained in this study can be used when designing a medical curriculum or a general practice course.

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Predictors of a positive attitude of medical students towards general practice - a survey of three Bavarian medical faculties.

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Predictors of a positive attitude of medical students towards general practice - a survey of three Bavarian medical faculties.

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