Attitudes towards biopsychosocial concerns in primary care: Prediction, gender and changes across cohorts

The Washington Primary Care Interest Inventory (WPCII) assesses student attitudes regarding the appropriateness of a range of biopsychosocial concerns for which a patient might seek care from a primary care provider. The WPCII holds promise for understanding the relationship between attitudes, career choice, gender, and cohort.

We longitudinally examined WPCII scores across medical school cohorts and by gender. We also explored the influence of attitudes in predicting career choice.

Four findings emerged. First, WPCII scores were positively associated with student preferences for primary care specialties. Second, across 14 years, there has been a significant upward trend in WPCII scores. Third, women exhibit higher scores on the WPCII. Finally, WPCII scores at the start of medical school show some ability to predict student residency match.

We discuss the WPCII's promise for understanding shifts in career choice and the influence of gender in selecting primary care specialties.