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[Motivation for Specialisation in General Practice - A Quantitative Study of NRW's Medical Students in Support of
Greta Joan Funkhouser1, Thomas Ostermann2, Andreas Sönnichsen1,3
1Institut für Allgemeinmedizin und Familienmedizin, Universität Witten/Herdecke, Witten.
Aim Of Study:
Due to forecasted shortage of general practitioners, we conducted an online survey of all medical students in North-Rhine-Westphalia to identify and quantify determinants in medical students' decision to specialize in general practice (GP).
Methodology:
To identify the motives driving the choice of GP as a career, responses of 3976 participants (22.6% of medical students invited) were subjected to factor analysis. Relationships between extracted factors and career choice were ascertained via regression analysis adjusted for population characteristics. All participants who had positioned themselves distinctly for/against GP were included in regression analysis (n=2862).
Results:
Four of five identified factors were significantly associated with the intended choice of GP. "Comprehensive patient contact" (OR 4.02; 95% CI [3.5-4.6]), and "flexible working hours" (OR 1.35; 95% CI [1.2-1.5]) represent factors associated with choosing GP despite the perception of "superior career opportunities, income and status in other specializations" (OR 1.14; 95% CI [1.0-1.3]). Meanwhile, preference for "specialization, research and teamwork in other disciplines" (OR 0.55; 95% CI [0.5-0.6]) obstructs the intended choice of GP.
Conclusion:
GP recruitment can profit from focused sponsorship of students' interest in patient contact within GP clerkships, appropriate GP teaching structure at the universities, enhanced research and teamwork opportunities, and increased flexibility of working hours.