Purpose: Self-declaration of personal values has been suggested as a means of identifying students with greater predilection for future primary care careers. While statistically significant differences have been demonstrated, absolute differences between those interested in primary care and those interested in specialist careers tend to be small.…

A longitudinal study of students (n=70) entering Dartmouth Medical School (New Hampshire) in 1984 found attitudes toward family practice initially positive and improving. However, of 25 indicating early interest in family medicine, only 6 chose a related residency. Student concerns about the specialty's demands are seen as a possible factor.…

A family medicine preceptorship program is outlined and students' reactions to it are discussed. The reactions of the preceptors to the program components and to the student participants are described. (MLW)

Five medical school characteristics previously identified as related to choice of family practice as a specialty were examined, with tuition level, for relationship to specialty choice among U.S. medical graduates between July 1986 and December 1987. Only two of the factors were found to be statistically relevant. (Author/MSE)

A study of the influence of clinical experiences on one medical school's students' choice of specialty found that neither early exposure to role models in family medicine nor the order in which specialty clerkships were taken significantly affected students' choice of family medicine. (MSE)

Theories of decision-making were used to study the differences between first-year medical students in North Carolina who preferred family medicine and those who preferred other specialities. Students who preferred family medicine were more interested in using medicine as a tool to help people. (Author/MLW)

Survey findings suggest medical students' choice of career and locality can be used in selection process to fill current priorities of community need. (IR)

Analysis of data from an annual graduating medical students' survey revealed that a required third-year family medicine clerkship of at least four weeks is associated with a higher percentage of students choosing training and specialty certification in family practice. Whether clerkship inspires or reinforces preexisting choices is not indicated.…

A study of burnout among 67 residents in four programs found little relationship between burnout scores and situational and background factors, but numerous relationships were found among personality measures, burnout scores, and measures of regret about career choice, indicating the importance of interpersonal skills and comfort in mitigating…

A combined B.S.-M.D. program designed to provide family practitioners to northwest Pennsylvania is described. The impact of the program on the region goes beyond the number of physicians supplied. Gannon University attracts high-quality students, and Erie hospitals benefit from affiliation with the medical school at Hahnemann University.…

This study examined new admission policies at the University of Virginia School of Medicine designed to increase the number of students likely to pursue primary care specialities. The study focused on whether there was a relationship between interviewers' predictions and applicants' career choice at the completion of their first year of medical…

This study is a continuation of an earlier investigation of personality and medical specialty choice. The earlier study determined that personality differences existed among family practitioners, anesthesiologists, and general surgeons. Based on this initial research, an attempt was made to answer the question of how the personality factors of…

The Fishbein Model of attitude formation was used as a framework for developing a questionnaire to measure students' attitudes toward a career in family practice and the social support students perceived they had for that career. Both the attitude and social support scales had excellent psychometric characteristics. (Author/MLW)

Medical education's influence on practice was studied with general practice/family practice graduates of McMaster (n=365) and other Ontario universities (n=2,312 students). McMaster graduates were more likely to be certified in family medicine and showed significant differences in practice styles and service patterns. Selection and curriculum…

This study examined the effect of gender, personality attributes, and class standing on medical students' attitudes toward medically underserved populations. A total of 102 first-year and 65 second-year students at a medical school in the southeastern United States completed the Medical Students' Attitudes Toward the Underserved (MSATU)…