Energising Medical Students in India – What Would Make them Willing to Work in Rural Primary Care?
Poster number 915 presented at #RCGPAC United Kingdom
Abstract
Aim: This study sought to determine how barriers to medical students choosing a career in rural government primary care clinics could be overcome.
Content: A written survey of medical students throughout Patna Medical College, an urban Indian medical school, was undertaken. Internationally, many previous studies have attempted to determine the characteristics of students who are willing or unwilling to work in rural primary care. This study introduces a new concept – students who are “conditionally willing” provided certain criteria are met.
Relevance: In India, 26% of doctors work in rural areas but 72% of the population live there. As in many other areas of the world, the majority of medical students do not wish to work in rural primary care. The concept of “conditional willingness” could usefully be applied in other contexts internationally.
Outcomes: In total 394 students completed the questionnaire (response rate 92%). The willingness of medical students to work in rural primary care declined as they progressed through professional years of medical school. However, there was a commensurate increase (p<0.0001) in conditional willingness if certain conditions were met – the most cited were housing issues (including water and electricity, 83%), facilities for doctors’ children such as a good education (69%), and an improved starting salary (66%). Absolute unwillingness to work in a rural health centre remained low; 95% of such students cited the desire to undertake postgraduate studies as a reason.
Discussion: Policy makers wishing to increase the willingness of medical students to enter primary care should undertake context-relevant steps to bring about the reforms to encourage willingness.
References (and hyperlinks to online resources for further reading):
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Author credentials (as of October 2016)
Dr Prateek Nishant is a rotatory medical-surgical intern in Patna Medical College Hospital, interested in Community Medicine, Ophthalmology, Nanotechnology and Informatics. The poster is a result of further research on an STS project awarded a research grant by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Dr Rashmi Singh is Professor and Head of the Department of Community Medicine, Patna Medical College and was Dr Nishant's guide for the ICMR project.
Dr Helen Susan Crawley is an International Trainer with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). She is a regular visitor to Patna Medical College where she is working on a collaborative project to improve the training of Interns and Medical Officers. She was responsible for writing the content of the present poster.
Dr Ranjeet Kumar Sinha is Associate Professor in the Department of Community Medicine, Patna Medical College and was responsible for writing the content of the present poster.
Dr Sony Sinha is Assistant Professor in Ophthalmology , Patna Medical College and trained in Biostatistics from PD Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai. She was responsible for the data handling and biostatistical analysis for the ICMR project
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Financial Declaration:
This research was partly supported by a financial grant from Indian Council of Medical Research, read the story here