Working in preventive medicine or not? Flawed perceptions decrease chance of retaining students for the profession (original) (raw)

Students’ conceptions of the medical profession; an interview study

Medical Teacher, 2005

Students' beliefs and attitudes towards the medical profession have been studied in relation to career choices, but most research has been restricted to either predetermined aspects or to a limited number of specialities. This study aimed at getting unprompted insight in the students' perceptions of their future profession in dimensions that may be determinants of study success and career choice. Undergraduate and graduated medical students were interviewed and asked to characterize the medical profession in general and four contrasting specialities in particular. Grounded Theory methodology was used to analyse the data. Participants were medical students at the start of their training (n ¼ 16), during clerkships (n ¼ 10) and after graduation (n ¼ 37). Beginning students perceive the medical profession in limited dimensions: the activities of a physician, their relationship to patients and the physician's knowledge, skills and personality. They do not see many differences between specialities, in contrast with students with clinical experience and graduate students. Undergraduate students' perception is focussed more on social aspects of the profession compared to graduates.

Medical Students’ Views of Medicine as a Calling and Selection of a Primary Care-Related Residency

The Annals of Family Medicine, 2018

With the US health care system facing a primary care physician shortage, we evaluated whether medical students who saw medicine as a calling were more likely to enter a family medicine, internal medicine, or pediatrics residency program. Of the 591 4th-year medical students who responded to a survey item on medicine as a calling, 237 strongly agreed that the “practice of medicine is a calling.” Students who strongly agreed that medicine was a calling had higher odds (P=.003) of selecting a primary care-related residency. Identifying with medicine as a calling may increase the likelihood of pursuing a primary care career.

Medical students' perceptions of a career in family medicine

Israel journal of health policy research, 2018

In Israel, there is a shortage of family medicine (FM) specialists that is occasioned by a shortage of students pursuing a FM career. A questionnaire, based on methods adapted from marketing research, was used to provide insight into the medical specialty selection process. It was distributed to 6-year medical students from two Israeli medical schools. A response rate of 66% resulted in collecting 218 completed questionnaires. Nineteen of the students reported that they were interested in FM, 68% of them were women. When compared to students not interested in FM, the selection criteria of students interested in FM reflected greater interest in a bedside specialty which provides direct long-term patient care. These latter students were also more interested in a controllable lifestyle that allowed time to be with family and children and working outside the hospital especially during the daytime. These selection criteria aligned with their perceptions of FM, which they perceived as pro...

Meeting the demand of the future: a curriculum to stimulate interest in careers in primary care internal medicine

Medical education online, 2017

There is a growing need for primary care physicians, but only a small percentage of graduating medical students enter careers in primary care. To assess whether a Primary Care Intraclerkship within the Medicine clerkship can significantly improve students' attitudes by analyzing scores on pre- and post-tests. Students on the Medicine clerkship at the University of Massachusetts Medical School participated in full-day 'intraclerkships',to demonstrate the importance of primary care and the management of chronic illness in various primary care settings. Pre-and post-tests containing students' self-reported, five-point Likert agreement scale evaluations to 26 items (measuring perceptions about the roles of primary care physicians in patient care and treatment) were collected before and after each session. Eleven intraclerkships with 383 students were held between June 2010 and June 2013. Responses were analyzed using the GLM Model Estimate. Results from the survey analys...

Preventive medicine as a first-or second-choice course: a cross-sectional survey into students' motivational differences and implications for information provision

Background: Challenges in recruiting and retaining medical staff in preventive medical specialties have recently been the subject of numerous studies. To improve selection procedures, it is important to understand the career preferences and incentives of students in preventive medicine (PM), who initially marked the program as either their first choice or second choice. 1386 PM students in four Vietnamese medical schools participated in a survey using a structured, written questionnaire. Students were asked about their reasons for entering medical school and studying PM, their perceptions of PM during the academic course, and their expected career path following graduation. Results: First-choice PM students (group 1) more often had siblings working as a preventive doctor, while second-choice PM students' siblings (group 2) were more often medical students or clinical doctors. Group 1 had gathered more information about PM by consulting their high-school teachers and the national career guide. They were mainly drawn to the PM program by the newness of the profession, the prospect of a high-income job, its low entry criteria and low study burden compared to general medicine, their desire to uphold their family tradition, and to fulfill their family's wish of having a doctor in the family. Group 2 chose to study PM because they wanted to pursue their dream of becoming a doctor. Compared to the first group, their perception of PM more frequently changed during the later years of the curriculum and they more frequently envisioned becoming a clinical doctor following graduation. Conclusions: Interest in and motivation for PM may be cultivated among prospective or current students by improving information provision, diffusing knowledge, and otherwise acquainting students better with the PM specialty before and during the program.

Why a Medical Career and What Makes a Good Doctor? Beliefs of Incoming United States Medical Students

Beginning medical students’ beliefs about the medical profession have been well studied internationally but have only been minimally studied in the United States (U.S.) recently. Up-to-date research on U.S. medical students’ beliefs is warranted so educators can employ these predispositions as a baseline for curriculum and student professional development. We conducted focus groups with a first-year class (n=189) of U.S. medical students at the beginning of their academic year. In an iterative theming process, investigators worked in dyads and subsequently as a group to develop a list of preliminary themes expressed in the focus groups. Investigators individually sorted preliminary themes into similar categories. All sorted preliminary themes and categories were placed in a matrix from which final themes were derived. Investigators found eight themes for the question “Why pursue a career in medicine?” and six themes for “What makes a good doctor?“. Students expected medicine to be intellectually and personally fulfilling, they expected to be respected by the community, indicated that early experiences with medicine impacted their career choices, and anticipated that a medical career would yield financial security. A good doctor was described as a committed, smart, decisive leader who enthusiastically partners with patients via effective interpersonal skills. Beginning U.S. medical students hold multi-faceted beliefs about medicine that are similar to international medical students’ beliefs. Themes related to patient-centeredness, decisive leadership, and intellectual curiosity have particular utility in curriculum and professional development and should not be ignored. Administrators seeking to expand the physician workforce should consider early experiences, status, and monetary rewards.

How can we change medical students' perceptions of a career in family medicine? Marketing or substance?

Israel journal of health policy research, 2018

Family Medicine (FM) is the care of unselected patients with undifferentiated problems in the settings where people need care in our communities. It is intellectually challenging, providing breadth and depth unparalleled in other areas of medical practice. In one survey only 19% of Israeli students reported being interested in FM. Students interested in FM had greater interest in bedside and direct long-term patient care. Students not planning FM residency training had preconceived notions that the discipline had lower academic opportunities and prestige. What can be done to increase student interest in careers in FM?This commentary includes perspectives of family practice leaders from several countries:The problem isn't the students it is the scope of practice and expectations both of which can and should change if FM in Israel wants to stay viable. The scope of FM should be broadened to include more procedures and new technologies. This may also increase the earning potential ...

Assessing Canadian Medical Students’ Familiarity with and Interest in Pursuing a Career in Community Medicine

Canadian Journal of Public Health, 2009

he challenge of teaching public health (PH) effectively to capture the interest of medical students is an international problem. 1,2 One outcome of this inadequate PH teaching in medical schools is a lack of student interest in the public health medical specialty of Community Medicine (CM). CM specialists complete a fiveyear residency in a program that must include one year of clinical training,* one academic year, and one year of field-based placements. 3 CM specialists certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada have the clinical experience and the population health training needed in areas of health promotion, disease prevention, chronic disease management and public health emergencies. In 2006, only 0.9% or 17 of the 1,978 graduating Canadian medical students ranked CM as their first-choice residency discipline. In contrast, 31.9% or 631 students ranked Family Medicine as their first-choice discipline. 4 Along with low interest in CM, it is predicted that in the next 10 years, 39% of all Medical Officers of Health will retire. 5 It is currently estimated that there are 384 practicing CM specialists in Canada. Our study sought to understand the perceptions and attitudes of medical students with regard to public health to determine how this impacted their choice towards a career in CM. METHODS We conducted focus groups at 5 of 17 medical schools across Canada which had a CM residency-training program between February and April 2006. These schools were selected primarily based on location and included: University of British Columbia (West), University of Manitoba (Central), University of Toronto (Ontario), McMaster University (Ontario), and Université de Sherbrooke (Quebec). Factors such as type of curriculum (e.g., traditional vs. problembased) were also considered. We recruited medical students through posters and e-mails two weeks in advance of the focus groups with no inclusion or exclusion criteria. Groups were limited to 12 participants on a first-come, first

Community medicine: perceptions among medical students and career preference: a cross sectional study

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 2017

In 1977, the World Health Assembly decided that the main social target of governments and of WHO should be the attainment by all the people of the world by the year 2000 of a level of health that would permit them to lead a socially and economically productive life. 1 The Department of Community Medicine (CM) in medical colleges focuses on teaching and training medical students with an aim to ensure value-based education and help in moulding a basic doctor of first contact. The functions of a doctor include the care of the individual, the care of the community and the role as a teacher. 2 The chief objectives of the CM programme are to ensure value education to the undergraduate student through service to marginalized groups, strengthen skills and attitude input to help them serve later as effective doctors and leaders in the society. Today, most of the teaching in CM is carried out using didactic lectures within the "ivory tower" of an institution ABSTRACT Background: Learning community medicine helps the student not only to become a good clinician but also a good manager, educator and a researcher. Community medicine exposes medical students to primary and secondary healthcare settings and to promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services. This helps them to serve the needy people with a holistic approach. The objective is to find the perceptions of medical students regarding Community Medicine as a Medical Subject and as a career preference. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of 2 months. It was conducted on 200 students of Final year part I of MBBS in a tertiary care hospital by using universal sampling method. Data was collected from all the students using a self-administered pre-tested questionnaire using Likert"s scale. Results: Total 212 students participated in this study out of which 125 were boys and 87 were girls. The perceptions of students about community medicine were that this field gives an overall view of community"s medical needs. Curriculum is too vast and needs to be modified. More research should be done in community. Teaching methodology should be modified for making topics interesting. More number of girls was interested in taking community medicine as a career. Conclusions: Students perceptions regarding the field of community medicine showed that community medicine is essential for successful medical practice. But the teachers must make this subject more interesting by giving more practical insight and improving the teaching modalities.