Asad Munazza, Khan Unab I, Arshad Anum
Department of Family Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Department of Family Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
J Family Med Prim Care. 2025 Feb;14(2):643-647. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_636_24. Epub 2025 Feb 21.
To assess the perceptions of medical students about Family Medicine (FM) as a career choice and to examine if exposure to FM in undergraduate medical curriculum is associated with a positive perception of FM.
Cross-sectional study.
The study was conducted in four medical universities of Karachi out of which two were public and two were private sectors. From July 2021 to January 20 22.
The investigator administered a structured questionnaire in person to the participants. Quantitative data was collected, and descriptive statistics were computed. Association between exposure to FM and perceptions about FM was compared using Chi-squared test. A value of < 0.05 was considered as significant.
A total of 300 students were included; 116 (38.7%) were male. The mean age of participants was 22.8 (±1.7) years. Most (79%) of the participants had a positive perception of FM. Exposure to FM in the undergraduate curriculum (UGC) played a significant role in improving perception, and 80.6% of exposed participants were found to have positive perception. However, there was no association between participants' preference for choosing FM as their career and exposure to FM (not exposed: 35 (31%) vs. exposed: 52 (28%); = 0.598).
Our study highlights the significant impact that exposure to Family Medicine (FM) in undergraduate medical education has on students' perceptions of the specialty. While this exposure generally fosters a positive view of FM, it does not translate into a strong inclination to pursue FM as a career. The primary deterrent identified is the perception of low remuneration associated with the specialty, which remains a critical factor in specialty choice. Addressing these financial concerns may be key to encouraging more students to consider Family Medicine as a viable and rewarding career path.
评估医学生对家庭医学（FM）作为职业选择的看法，并研究本科医学课程中接触家庭医学是否与对家庭医学的积极看法相关。
横断面研究。
该研究在卡拉奇的四所医科大学进行，其中两所是公立大学，两所是私立大学。研究时间为2021年7月至2022年1月20日。
研究者亲自向参与者发放一份结构化问卷。收集定量数据并计算描述性统计量。使用卡方检验比较接触家庭医学与对家庭医学看法之间的关联。P值<0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
共纳入300名学生；116名（38.7%）为男性。参与者的平均年龄为22.8（±1.7）岁。大多数（79%）参与者对家庭医学有积极看法。本科课程（UGC）中接触家庭医学在改善看法方面发挥了重要作用，80.6%接触过的参与者有积极看法。然而，参与者选择家庭医学作为职业的偏好与接触家庭医学之间没有关联（未接触：35名（31%） vs. 接触过：52名（28%）；P = 0.598）。
我们的研究强调了本科医学教育中接触家庭医学对学生对该专业看法的重大影响。虽然这种接触通常会培养对家庭医学的积极看法，但并没有转化为强烈的从事家庭医学职业的倾向。确定的主要阻碍因素是认为该专业薪酬低，这仍然是专业选择中的一个关键因素。解决这些经济问题可能是鼓励更多学生将家庭医学视为可行且有回报的职业道路的关键。
