Medical students' perceptions of community medicine: A comparative study between students of quotas related to community medicine and regular admission / 医学教育

ABSTRACT

<p>　Few studies have examined medical students' perceptions of community medicine and specialty choice through comparison between students of quotas related to community medicine and regular admission. We conducted a questionnaire survey on students' desire for future work places, types of health facility/hospital, medical specialization, and community medicine involving year 1 to year 5 students in Gifu University School of Medicine (n=335, selective admission regular admission=81254) . This study demonstrated that the selected students for community medicine (years 1 to 5) preferred to work at a core/small-sized hospital in a rural area and tended to choose the specialties that were characterized by primary care, such as pediatrics. Moreover, they had positive perceptions of community medicine. Further follow-up study needs to be undertaken in order to explore how students are actually engaging in community medicine after graduation.</p>