Table 3 Key subthemes that emerged from rural undergraduate medical students (n = 62) regarding their perceptions of the barriers to undertaking a rural internship

Lack of knowledge of rural training

▪ Limited information provided by the medical school, rural clinical school and local hospitals about rural internships

Internship training

▪ Limited exposure to rarer or higher acuity presentations

▪ Limited research opportunities, particularly lab-based research

Personal factors

▪ Relocation

▪ Loss of existing family & friend support networks

▪ Fear of the unknown

Future considerations

▪ Limited rural training pipeline

▪ Fear of missing out on the networking opportunities available in urban; this would disadvantage them when applying for specialty training