Study orientations of graduate entry medical students.

BACKGROUND In order to meet the changing needs of health care, the University of Turku has introduced a graduate entry programme aimed at students with previous education and experience in health care professions. AIMS In this study, we look at the study performance of students with different educational backgrounds with special emphasis on graduate entry students. METHODS We surveyed the study orientations of 145 first-year medical students with different educational backgrounds in the Medical Faculty of the University of Turku, Finland. Special emphasis was placed on graduate entry students (n = 25) with previous education and work experience in health care professions. The students were characterized based on student records and the questionnaire Inventory of General Study Orientation (IGSO). RESULTS Our results revealed that after the first year of medical studies the graduate entry students showed exceptionally strong theoretical and practical commitment to their studies with a strong work-life orientation which makes them a distinct group among medical students.