Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Jul 2019)
First-year medical student attitudes about general practice in China: a comparison between Chinese and international students
Abstract
Qi Chen,1 Siqing Lian,2 Melissa A Plegue,3 Michael D Fetters3,41School of Health Humanities, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Mixed Methods Program, Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; 4Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaIntroduction: Chinese policy increasingly emphasizes growth of general practice (GP). The purpose of this research was to understand attitudes toward GP among first-year Chinese and international medical students studying in China.Methods: Based on a cross-sectional survey using a 5-point Likert scale of medical students at Peking University Health Science Center regarding attitudes toward specialty choice, practice setting, care of patient age groups, care types, and GP, we compared responses of Chinese and international medical students.Results: In total, 258 national and 77 international students participated. International students ranked equally or more highly as favorable practice settings associated with GP, eg, outpatient (P=0.05) and home care (P<0), types of care associated with GP, eg, preventive services (P<0) and palliative care (P=0.01), and age-groups of interest, eg, care for babies (P<0), children (P<0), and adult women (P=0.03). Chinese students more strongly endorsed beliefs that GP physicians are needed in rural Chinese areas (P<0), supported by the government (P=0.02), and respected by society (P<0).Discussion: Chinese students’ attitudes about the social desirability of GP are consistent with Chinese policy, but international students more strongly endorsed desirable work characteristics of actual GP. These differences accentuate the need for more attention in the medical curriculum to educate Chinese students about why GP can be a personally rewarding career.Keywords: general practice, family medicine, attitude, undergraduate medical education, general practitioner, family physician, China
