This book contains the abstracts of the papers presented at The 3rd Annual Graduate Entry Research in Medicine Conference (GERMCON 2020) Organized by Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick in collaboration with Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, Wales, UK held on 12–18 October 2020. This was especially important for Graduate Entry Medical (GEM) students, who have less opportunity and time to engage in research due to their accelerated medical degree.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic restricted the availability of face-to-face primary care visits. This rapidly increased the proportion of primary care patient-clinician visits conducted virtually and asynchronously (remote consultations via video, telephone, and web-based text/email), altering the educational environment for medical students. Our study explored the impact of the increased proportion of primary care visits conducted virtually and asynchronously, on medical students’ self-reported interest in pursuing a career in general (family) practice. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey study of medical students at six universities within England and Wales to explore the impact of the increased proportion of primary care visits conducted virtually and asynchronously on medical students’ interest in pursuing a career in general practice. Results: One hundred fifty-four medical students were recruited between December 2020 and May 2021; 79 (51%) of the participants reported being less interested in pursuing a career in general practice as a result of the increased proportion of virtual and asynchronous primary care visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increased to 104 (68%) of the participants reporting being less interested should primary care visits continue to be delivered virtually or asynchronously by default. Analysis of open-ended survey questions identified a poorer educational experience, concerns regarding the impact on patient care, an isolated working environment and technological challenges as key negative themes. Conclusions: Sociable, supportive working and learning environments and offering equitable care are important motivators for the future workforce. There is a need to develop robust training and assessment in patient-clinician virtual visits and asynchronous communication and to integrate this into curricula.

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