Medical students’ orientation towards rural general practice:

results from an exploratory study of a Scottish cohort

FARMER, JANE
IVERSEN, LISA
BOND, CHRISTINE
DUTHIE, IAIN

Correspondence to: Jane Farmer, Department of Management, University of Aberdeen, Edward Wright Building, Dunbar Street, Aberdeen AB24 3QY, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1224 273237; fax: +44 (0)1224 273843; email: [email protected].

Jane Farmer, MA PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Management. Lisa Iversen, BSC (HONS), is a Researcher at the Department of General Practice & Primary Care. Professor Christine Bond, BPharm MR Pharms MEd PhD ACPP, is Deputy Head of the Department of General Practice & Primary Care. Iain Duthie, MB ChB MRCGP, is Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Department of General Practice & Primary Care. All at the University of Aberdeen.

Accepted January 2003

Education for Primary Care 14(4):p 463-467, November 2003.

SUMMARY

There are difficulties with the recruitment and retention of healthcare staff to rural areas that need to be addressed. Undergraduate medical placements can be used to raise students’ awareness of rural work. We sought to examine students’ perceptions of rural primary care gained through placement, and their orientation towards rural general practice as a career. Ninety-five final-year medical students electing to take a six-week general practice placement were surveyed both before and after their placement about their expectations and experiences of rural general practice and their future career.

A higher proportion of female than male students expressed an interest in working in rural general practice. A friendly work environment with opportunities for wide-ranging experience were favourable aspects of the rural placement, with issues relating to isolation and working in close-knit communities the most off-putting. Positive and negative aspects of rural general practice identified mirror findings of studies on recruitment and retention of rural health professionals. While small numbers restrict generalisability, given the international difficulties of rural recruitment and retention, the study serves to further highlight the need to explore pathways into, and barriers to, rural careers – perhaps particularly for women.