Medical students’ response to undergraduate instruction in general practice1

Attitudes of medical students toward general practice

“…Most students felt that the GP should play a larger role in the teaching of medical students (statement 4e). This is wholly consistent with other data from the same survey which show that, in general, students respond very favourably to direct contact with general practice and look upon it as a valuable contribution to their medical education (Dean, 1971).…”

“…However, when one considers the remainder of the data it becomes clear that this conclusion is only partially satisfactory. Other data from the same survey (Dean, 1971) and those in Table 7 suggest that the nature and amount of contact students have with general practice influences their attitudes toward it. In addition, the responses to statements 4b, 4d, and 4h show that a majority of all students do not regard general practice as a career forced on doctors who would prefer another branch of medicine.…”

“…This paper describes these attitudes and changes that appear to take place during the medical school years. Data from the same survey comparing attitudes toward general practice with the amount of exposure students had to the field have been presented elsewhere (Dean, 1971).…”