A survey and an intervention study on Chinese medical students' willingness to pursue a career in geriatrics / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the attitudes of Chinese medical students toward the elderly and their willingness to practice in geriatrics, and to investigate the influence of geriatrics education on their attitudes.Methods:Medical students studying diagnostics in four medical universities were enrolled in a cross-sectional survey and, for the intervention study, graduate trainees from non-geriatrics specialties taking a geriatrics course were interviewed before and after the course.An electronic questionnaire was used to collect general information, the experience of interacting with the elderly, attitudes towards the elderly and the willingness to develop careers in geriatric medicine.Changes in attitudes towards the elderly and their willingness to practice in geriatrics before and after the 40-hour geriatric medicine course were compared.Results:A total of 648 medical students completed the cross-sectional survey, with the highest score in compassion for the elderly(3.54±0.54)and the lowest score for medical services for elderly patients(3.36±0.78). Only 2.2%(14/648)of the students showed strong interest in geriatric medicine.The results of the intervention from 42 graduate trainees showed that the average scores of revised Geriatric Attitude Scale(r-GAS)were 3.80±0.43 and 3.92±0.40 before and after the course, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant( t=2.148, P=0.038). At the end of the course, 7 trainees(16.7%, 7/42)showed great interest in geriatrics, significantly different from 2 trainees(4.8%, 2/42)before the course( χ2=8.211, P=0.025). Conclusions:Chinese medical students show a serious lack of interest in geriatrics, and geriatrics education can improve their attitudes towards the elderly and their willingness to work in geriatrics.With the rapid population aging in China, it is urgent to strengthen the education of geriatric medicine.