Career intentions and perceptions of general practice on entry to medical school: baseline findings of a longitudinal survey at three UK universities

Abstract

BackgroundMedical graduates from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have a lower intention to become general practitioners compared to other UK medical graduates. It is not clear to what extent this difference is present on admission to medical school.AimTo compare the career intention and influencing factors of students on admission to different medical schools.Design & settingFirst year of a six year prospective cohort study of medical students admitted to the three East of England medical schools in Autumn 2020: University of East Anglia(UEA), University of Cambridge (UOC) and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU).MethodAn online survey instrument was administered at the start of the first year. This measured self-reported career interests and various influencing factors including perceptions of general practice.ResultsUOC students declared a lower intention to become a doctor, a higher likelihood of choosing careers in pathology and public health and a much lower likelihood of becoming a GP (all at P<0.001). In all three schools, the phrases least associated with general practice were “opportunities for creativity/innovation” and “research/academic opportunities” while the phrases most associated with general practice were “favourable working hours” and “flexibility”. However, research/academic opportunities were far more important, and favourable working hours far less important, to UOC students (P<0.001 for both).ConclusionsUOC students’ lower intention to become a GP appears to be present on entry to medical school. This may be explained in part by these students placing a higher importance on research/academic opportunities combined with the widely held perception that GP careers lack these opportunities.

Impact of Increased Patient-Clinician Virtual Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Student Enthusiasm for Future General Practice Careers

“…Reassuringly, in the study population approximately one-third of participants reported being interested in a career in general practice prior to commencing their medical degree, which is similar to the proportion of newly-qualified junior (foundation) doctors appointed directly to general practice versus other specialty training programmes 23 and to reported interest during first year of study. 30 This gives the authors confidence that in this respect the study sample is likely to be representative of, and thus transferrable to, the UK medical student population.…”