Technical University of Munich, School of Medicine, TUM Medical Education Center, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675, Munich, Germany.
Public Health Department Hochtaunuskreis, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany.
BMC Med Educ. 2022 Aug 17;22(1):622. doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03688-x.
In many countries, not enough students are interested to work as general practitioners in rural areas. To solve this problem, several, sometimes partly extracurricular, programs have been developed. Most of these programs are based on continuity, which means that students stay in a rural region for an extended period of time, by completing clerkships. Although the effects of these programs are positive, it is often difficult to motivate students to participate. The purpose of the present study is to get insight into the reasons why students choose not to participate in these programs.
We carried out a questionnaire study among medical students in the clinical phase of the Technical University of Munich in Germany. First, we asked the students whether they actively informed themselves about the program which aims to reduce the shortage of general practitioners in rural areas in Bavaria. Furthermore, the questionnaire focused on the reasons for not participating in this program.
Based on the answers of 442 students from study years 3-6, the most frequently chosen reason for not participating in the program is "identification with another discipline" with 61.0%, directly followed by "not willing to commit long-term" (56.1%). In third place is "personal connections to another region" with 30.5%. In the open comments, we find the same reasons: many students do not want to commit to a certain direction too early. In addition, students indicate that the number of regions where this program is offered is too limited for them.
Offering programs to prepare and motivate students for work as general practitioners in rural areas can contribute to increasing the pool of future general practitioners. To encourage students to participate in such a program, it is important to consider the motives of students. Many students who might be interested in general practice do not choose to take part in such a program because they do not want to commit to a particular specialty or region at an early stage. It is important to take these insights into account when designing and implementing these programs.
在许多国家，对在农村地区从事全科医生工作感兴趣的学生人数不足。为了解决这个问题，已经开发了一些有时是课外的计划。这些计划大多基于连续性，这意味着学生要在农村地区延长一段时间，通过完成实习来完成。尽管这些计划的效果是积极的，但往往很难激励学生参与。本研究的目的是深入了解学生选择不参加这些计划的原因。
我们在德国慕尼黑工业大学临床阶段的医学生中进行了一项问卷调查。首先，我们询问学生是否积极了解旨在减少巴伐利亚农村地区全科医生短缺的计划。此外，问卷调查还侧重于不参加该计划的原因。
根据来自 3 至 6 年级的 442 名学生的回答，不参加该计划的最常见原因是“认同另一个学科”，占 61.0%，其次是“不愿意长期承诺”（56.1%）。第三位是“与另一个地区的个人联系”，占 30.5%。在开放评论中，我们找到了同样的原因：许多学生不想过早地对某个方向做出承诺。此外，学生们表示，该计划提供的地区数量对他们来说太有限了。
提供计划来培养和激励学生从事农村地区的全科医生工作，可以为增加未来全科医生的人数做出贡献。为了鼓励学生参加这样的计划，考虑学生的动机很重要。许多对全科医学感兴趣的学生不选择参加这样的计划，是因为他们不想在早期就对特定的专业或地区做出承诺。在设计和实施这些计划时，必须考虑到这些观点。
