Career intentions and perceptions of general practice on entry to medical school: baseline findings of a longitudinal survey at three UK universities

Abstract

Background: Medical graduates from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have a lowerintention to become GPs compared with other UK medical graduates. It is not clear to what extentthis difference is present on admission to medical school.Aim: To compare the career intention and influencing factors of students on admission to differentUK medical schools.Design & setting: First year of a 6-yearprospective cohort study of medical students admitted inautumn 2020 to the three East of England medical schools: University of East Anglia (UEA), Universityof Cambridge (UOC), and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU).Method: An online survey instrument was administered at the beginning of the first year. Thismeasured self-reportedcareer interests and various influencing factors, including perceptions ofgeneral practice.Results: UOC students declared a lower intention to become a doctor, a higher likelihood of choosingcareers in pathology and public health, and a much lower likelihood of becoming a GP than studentsof UEA or ARU (all at P<0.001). In all three schools, the phrases least associated with general practicewere 'opportunities for creativity/innovation' and 'research/academic opportunities', whereas thephrases most associated with general practice were 'favourable working hours' and 'flexibility'.However, research/academic opportunities were far more important, and favourable working hoursfar less important, to UOC students (P<0.001 for both) than to students of UEA or ARU.Conclusion: UOC students’ lower intention to become a GP appears to be present on entry tomedical school. This may be explained in part by these students placing a higher importance onresearch/academic opportunities, combined with the widely held perception that GP careers lackthese opportunities.