Germany is facing a shortage of young family doctors. In search of possible reasons the aim of this study was to explore the perception of specialists on family doctors. Within a qualitative study 16 medical specialists from different fields in hospital and outpatient care setting were interviewed. Interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. Most of the int...

INTRODUCTION In 1994, as a result of curriculum reform, the Ljubljana medical school established its first department of family medicine and introduced its first curriculum of family medicine. The new subject was well accepted by the students and the medical school. Nevertheless, there was no comprehensive analysis of the curriculum during this period. OBJECTIVE Our aims were to assess the qu...

OBJECTIVE To describe the knowledge of, and experience with, the Interest Group in Family Medicine (IgFM) at the University of Toronto, among undergraduate medical students; to explore the effects of the IgFM on undergraduate medical students; and to help determine future directions for the IgFM and other family medicine interest groups in Canada. DESIGN Qualitative descriptive design and foc...

BACKGROUND Among a variety of complex factors affecting a decision to take family medicine as a future specialisation, this study focused on demographic characteristics and assessed empathic attitudes in final year medical students. METHODS A convenience sampling method was employed in two consecutive academic years of final year medical students at the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana, Slove...

Background Canada has two independent routes of emergency medicine (EM) training and certification. This unique situation may encourage medical students with EM career aspirations to apply to family medicine (FM) residencies to subsequently acquire College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) training and certification in EM. We sought answers to the following: 1) Are medical students who indi...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Medical students have had a declining interest in family medicine as a career. Some studies have shown a small inverse relationship between debt levels and primary care, but it is unclear how students perceive remuneration in different specialties and how these perceptions might influence career choice. METHODS Medical students at one school were surveyed to understa...

General Practice/Family Medicine is a specialty focused on the provision of comprehensive, continuing, and community oriented, person-centred care. The lack of prestige and the difficulty in attracting trainees to the specialty have been longstanding problems in most countries around the world. In Europe, General Practice/Family Medicine is also hampered for not being recognized as a specialty ...

OBJECTIVE To explore the knowledge and perceptions of fourth-year medical students regarding the new models of primary health care (PHC) and to ascertain whether that knowledge influenced their decisions to pursue careers in family medicine. DESIGN Qualitative study using semistructured interviews. SETTING The Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario in...

As medical students, we have seen considerable misrepresentation of FM and regard this as a marketing failure in the early years of medical school. Negative aspects are often exaggerated, and positive characteristics are downplayed. Undersold features include FM’s opportunity for diversity and flexibility of career, challenge of practice, and ability to “hold its own” alongside any other medica...

BACKGROUND Student choice is an important determinant of the distribution of specialties of practising physicians in many countries. Understanding characteristics at entry into medical school that are associated with the choice of residency in family medicine can assist medical schools in admitting an appropriate mix of students to serve the health care needs of their regions. METHODS From 20...