Geneva medical students increasingly identify primary care physicians as role models after introduction of a compulsory clerkship

Abstract

Background

Role modelling is recognised as an important element in career choice. In strongly hospital-based medical education settings, students identify few primary care physicians as positive role models, which might impact their career plans and potentially contribute to primary care workforce shortage. At Geneva Faculty of Medicine (Switzerland), a compulsory final-year clerkship in primary care practices was introduced to strengthen primary care teaching in the curriculum.

Objectives

To assess the proportion of graduating students identifying a primary care physician as positive role model, before and after the introduction of the clerkship.

Methods

Cross-sectional survey in four consecutive classes of graduating medical students one year before and three years after the introduction of the clerkship. The main outcome measure was the proportion of students in each class citing a primary care physician role model. Comparisons were analysed using Pearson’s Chi-square test and one-way ANOVA.

Results

The total sample included 505 students. The proportion of students recalling a primary care physician role model increased steadily from 8% (before introduction of the clerkship) to 13, 16, and 21%, respectively, at 1, 2 and 3 years after the introduction of the clerkship (p = 0.03).

Conclusion

Our exploratory study suggests that introducing a compulsory primary care clerkship may have contributed to increasing the visibility of primary care physicians as role models. Future research should explore primary care physicians’ awareness of role modelling and its contribution to career choices.

Keywords:

• Undergraduate medical education
• primary care physicians
• career choice
• mentors

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Prior presentations

The outcomes of this study have been presented as a conference abstract at the 47th NAPCRG Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, November 16–20, 2019.

Additional information

Funding

The data for this study were collected as part of the CAPA project, which was funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, by the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva, and by the General Fund of the University of Geneva (Maus Foundation).