BackgroundIncreasing access to General Practice (GP) work experience placements for school students is a strategy for improving GP recruitment despite limited evidence and concerns surrounding equity of access to GP experiences.AimsTo examine the association between undertaking GP experience and the perceptions of GP as an appealing future career among prospective medical applicants. To identify socioeconomic factors associated with obtaining GP experience.Design & settingCross-sectional questionnaire study in the United Kingdom.MethodParticipants were UK residents aged 16 or older and seriously considering applying to study medicine in 2019/2020. They were invited to take part via the University Clinical Aptitude Test. Questionnaire data were analysed using a linear regression of GP appeal on GP experience adjusting for career motivations and demographics, and a logistic regression of GP experience on measures of social capital and demographics.ResultsOf 6,391 respondents, 4,031 were in their last year of school. GP experience predicted GP appeal after adjusting for career motivation and demographics (b=0.365, SE =0.06 p<0.00001). GP experience was more common among students at private (OR =1.65, 95% CI=1.31–2.08; P<0.0001) or grammar schools (OR =1.33, 95% CI =1.02–1.72; P=0.03) and in the highest socioeconomic group (OR =1.62, 95% CI =1.28–2.05; P<0.0001) and less likely among students of ‘Other’ ethnicity (OR =0.37, 95% CI =0.20–0.67; P=0.0011).ConclusionHaving GP experience prior to medical school was associated with finding GP appealing, which supports its utility in recruitment. Applicants from more deprived backgrounds were less likely to have had a GP experience, possibly through lack of accessible opportunities.

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