[Medical students' interest in general practitioners career].

AIM

To assess the reasons for entering medical school, to explore the attitudes and opinions of final year students regarding medical education and their future career preferences, including family medicine. METHODS. During four years period, 111 (73%) final year students of Split Medical School were surveyed [31 (96,8%) of them in academic year 1996/7, 23 (62%) in 2001/2, 30 (62,5%) in 2003/4 and 27 (77%) in 2004/5]. Semi-structured questionnaire about motivations and expectations was used and answered during the family medicine course.

RESULTS

. Most of the students 59/111 (53%) entered medical school by their own wish, 34 (31%) were not sure about their choice at the entry and in 17 (16%) students, it was a result of circumstances. The main motivations were interest in medical knowledge (35.6%) and (24.8%) desire to work with patients and to help people. Clinical specialization was the future career of first choice in 62%, family medicine in 16.2% of them, while 16.2% were still undecided. In rating social esteem and reputation (scale 1-6), the students rated surgeons on average: surgeon 5.48, cardiologist 4.85, gynaecologist 4.6, psychiatrist 2.70, family physician 2.30 and specialist in preventive medicine 1.27.

DISCUSSION

The essential reasons to enter a medical school are humanistic and not socioeconomic. Students prefer clinical specializations to family medicine. Final year medical students from Split Medical School suggest more practical work and field practice in order to improve the study quality.

CONCLUSION

Although the majority of the polled students stated to have chosen medicine for humanistic reasons, more than half of them prefer to work in a hospital, and less than quarter as family physician in a city. Substantial changes in curriculum including an early contact with family physicians could motivate medical students to select family medicine as their future career more often.