Table 1 The seven factors identified by Olid et al.[22] and used as themes for the qualitative analysis of the focus groups
From: Exploring medical students’ perceptions of family medicine in Kyrgyzstan: a mixed method study
Factors influencing perceptions and attitudes towards FM | Description |
|---|---|
1) broad scope and context of practice | Perception of varied specialty; Broad practice; Holistic perspective; Continued and long-term care; Preventive and public health activities |
2) lower interest or intellectually less challenging | Not intellectually challenging; Treating common diseases; Serious problems referred to specialists; Superficial, “mundane” and repetitive; Less action and less technology; Gatekeepers of health care system; Just triage patients |
3) influence of role models and society, other professionals and family | Negative comments and attitudes from other specialist, teachers, residents, colleagues, peers influence students’ career interests; Students feel pressure from family, friends and society to choose a different specialty; Influence of role models on students’ perception; Negative media coverage impacts students’ perception |
4) lower prestige | Lower status of FM compared to other specialties, professionally and socially; Choice of FM is an inferior and second choice |
5) low remuneration | Poor remuneration compared to other specialties; Difficulty to generate an additional income in the private sector |
6) medical school influence | Undergraduate experiences in FM influence career intentions; Exposure can be more or less stimulating than expected; If no exposure to FM, poor idea of what FM practice is; Length and quality of exposure influence specialty choice |
7) postgraduate training | Less intensive and shorter training considered as a positive element; Flexibility, well-structured program and lack of competition are positive aspects |