Factors associated with career intention in primary health care among medical students

Abstract

Introduction: Health assistance reorganization has been oriented, since the Unified Health System (SUS) creation, by a proposal of expansion and strengthening of Primary Health Care (PHC). In this context, the scarcity of trained professionals is considered one of the main challenges for PHC consolidation. Among the career options after graduation, most physicians choose to seek focal specializations to work in other health care levels. Objective: Therefore, this quantitative study aims to analyze the prevalence and associated factors of medical students’ interest in following a career in PHC. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with medical students attending the last two years in four medical schools in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A total of 524 students participated by answering a self-administered questionnaire, which was prepared by the authors, including questions regarding sociodemographic and economic profile, interaction with PHC during undergraduate school, career intention and intention to attend the Family and Community Medicine Residency (FCMR) program. Results: The results showed that 26.3% of the respondents indicated interest in following a career in PHC, a higher percentage when compared to previous studies. Regarding PHC being a temporary work choice, 79,3% of the participants indicated that they intend to work in this field after graduation. Ten percent of the students informed they intend to attend the FCMR program. Among the factors associated with the intention to work in PHC, a successful PHC experience during undergraduate school stands out. Conclusion: The results should be taken into consideration by health and medical education managers, fostering strategies that promote successful PHC experiences, encouraging learning-service integration and including students in a consolidated PHC network during undergraduate school. Initiatives such as increasing the workload in PHC during undergraduate school, increasing the number of FMC specialized teachers and health network improvement in the municipalities where these Higher Education Institutions are located can be powerful actions toward increasing the graduating students’ interest to work in PHC.