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Undergraduate students' perspectives on primary care.
Jessica A Gold1, Frances K Barg2, Katherine Margo2
1Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA jessica.gold@yale.edu.
Journal of Primary Care & Community Health
|May 21, 2014
Summary
Undergraduate students often have negative perceptions of primary care careers due to misconceptions about prestige and interest. Addressing these early attitudes is crucial to encourage more physicians to enter primary care.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Physician Workforce Development
Background:
- The number of medical students choosing primary care careers is insufficient to meet physician workforce needs.
- Undergraduate student perspectives on primary care careers are largely unknown.
- Premedical education significantly influences future physician career choices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate undergraduate students' perceptions of primary care careers.
- To identify early factors influencing medical students' career selection.
- To understand why fewer students choose primary care specialties.
Main Methods:
- Conducted semistructured interviews with 58 undergraduate students.
- Included current premed science majors, current premed non-science majors, and former premed students.
- Explored student views on the primary care physician shortage.
Main Results:
- Students perceived primary care as lacking glamour, being uninteresting, and having low prestige.
- Financial concerns and negative stigma were cited as deterrents.
- Many students misunderstood primary care roles and had never considered it.
Conclusions:
- Negative opinions and misconceptions about primary care form early in undergraduate education.
- Students interested in primary care may leave the premedical track.
- Targeting early attitudes is vital to address the primary care physician shortage.