[Effects of family medicine education on medical students' attitudes]

Undergraduate education is considered to be one of the main contributory factors for the development of family medicine through increasing the number of medical graduates opting for a career in family practice. To evaluate the effects of family medicine education on student's attitudes, 140 fifth year medical students were asked in 1989 to fill in a questionnaire both before and after their curricula. The average age of the 123 students who completed the questionnaire on both occasions was 24.9 years; 106 were males; 17 were tuition free and 26 took additional family medicine clerkships. On aggregate, the students' disposition toward family medicine before their curricula appeared to be uncertain. Mean scores on the attitude scale did not significantly differ between socioeconomic subgroups before the curricula. After the curricula, students' attitudes were significantly altered, especially toward the future development of family medicine in Taiwan. However, their disposition toward family practice as a career changed the least. The degree of alteration in students' attitude toward family medicine before and after the curricula was related to the intensity of the course and to their socioeconomic backgrounds.