Do primary care placements influence career choice: What is the evidence?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Primary Care Workforce Development

Background:

• The National Health Service (NHS) faces challenges in General Practice (GP) recruitment.
• Health Education England's (HEE) Wass Report identified undergraduate (UG) GP placement experience as crucial for boosting GP numbers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influences of undergraduate GP experiences on medical students' career choices.

Main Methods:

• A pragmatic rapid appraisal of existing literature was conducted.
• Searches across multiple databases (Medline, EMBASE, HMIC) and grey literature identified 294 relevant items.

Main Results:

• International evidence indicates positive undergraduate GP experiences encourage primary care careers.
• Longitudinal placements appear more influential than traditional block placements.
• UK literature, though limited, aligns with international findings, despite observational study limitations.

Conclusions:

• Findings have implications for medical school curricula, particularly concerning government plans to increase medical student numbers and establish new medical schools focused on GP production.