Background Switzerland lacks future general practitioners (GPs). Residents who wished to specialize as general practitioners were formerly trained solely in hospital settings. To better prepare and also attract more young doctors to become GPs, the canton of Bern (equivalent to a state) has implemented a partly state-funded vocational training program in GP practices. Our study examines the efficacy of this 10-year program, identifies factors that positively influence residents in their decision to become a GP and the distribution of new GPs in the canton of Bern, who had taken part in the traineeship. Methods This cross-sectional survey among all residents, who participated in a traineeship in general practice from 2008 to 2017 in the canton of Bern asked if residents had taken a subsequent career choice as a GP and if so in which region. Residents scored the importance of their traineeship and their mentor's influence on becoming a GP. By using zip codes of work area of respondents already working as GPs and matching it with population census data, we could obtain the distribution of GPs on a per capita basis. Results Out of 165 residents who participated in a traineeship, 151 (92%) completed our survey. 81% had chosen a career as a GP or were on track to become a GP. Almost half of the participants became GPs in the offices of their mentors or in the area. Our respondents emphasized the importance of their mentors' influence as well as the training program in their decision-making to become a GP. Most mentioned benefits of being a GP were broad field of medical care (37%) and a fulfilling doctor-patient relationship (34%). We could show an increase in GP practices in the canton of Bern, not only in urban but also accordingly in rural areas. Conclusions Most residents continued subsequent careers as general practitioners after having completed a GP traineeship, with almost half of them in the region of their training. A vocational
Zusammenfassung. Gemäss einer früheren Prognose wird erwartet, dass bis 2025 in der Schweiz 5000 Hausärzte fehlen werden, da nur 10–20 % der Medizinstudierenden diesen Beruf wählten. Unsere Umfrage bei allen fortgeschrittenen Medizinstudierenden hatte zum Ziel, deren Karrierewunsch neu zu erheben. Neben der Wahrscheinlichkeit, Hausarzt zu werden und dem Zeitpunkt des Karriereentscheids wurden Faktoren rund um die Hausarztmedizin (Arzt-Patienten-Beziehung, Karrieremöglichkeiten, etc.) erhoben. Die Resultate zeigten, dass sich Massnahmen zur Stärkung der Hausarztmedizin gelohnt haben: 60 % der Befragten sind potenziell zukünftige Hausärzte (20 % entschlossen, 40 % interessiert), 15 % sind unsicher, 25 % entschlossen Nicht-Hausärzte. Für Hausarztmedizin sprachen: Arbeitsautonomie, Arzt-Patienten-Beziehung, Möglichkeit der Teilzeittätigkeit, ärztliche Tätigkeit. Dagegen sprachen: Einkommen, Reputation, politische Rahmenbedingungen. Hier muss angesetzt werden, um Hausarztkarrieren mit attraktiven Weiterbildungsprogrammen und Praxisbedingungen weiter zu fördern.
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