Factors Associated with Motivation for General Medicine among Rural Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

General medicine, as the Japanese version of primary care or family medicine, is critical for healthcare in aging societies. Medical students' perceptions of general medicine and education might be associated with changes in the number of general physicians. This study aimed to clarify the association between these perceptions and students' preferences for general medicine. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Japanese medical students using a questionnaire on their perceptions regarding general medicine, background, and preferences for general medicine (knowledge, interest, motivation, and intention). The response rate was 70.3% (490/697). There was a large percentage gap between interest and motivation; therefore, a logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the cause of this difference. The perceptions that general medicine meets the needs of society and the lack of general medicine educators were positively associated with motivation to become a general physician. In contrast, perceptions of lack of exposure to general medicine beyond the curriculum and inaccessibility were negatively associated with motivation. Medical students' motivation to pursue general medicine may increase with improvements in flexible general medicine education and accessibility. Future research should investigate the relationship between students' perceptions of general medicine and their motivation to become general physicians through longitudinal studies.