A qualitative study of final-year medical students' perspectives of general practitioners' competencies

Abstract

ObjectivesTo investigate final-year medical students’ perspectives of general practitioners’ competencies. A further aim of the study was to investigate which type of clinical problems is properly managed by GPs according to students.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative study of 49 final year medical students from two programmes. Reflective writing statements were used to collect data. Qualitative content analysis was employed to analyse data.ResultsThree themes were identified to explain the conditions of a general practitioner (GP). They are: ‘prerequisites’, ‘patients´ problems’ and ‘competence and clinical judgment’ which reflect the specific features of primary care, presentation of symptoms by patient and the way that GPs approach an actual encounter.ConclusionsThe students valued the importance of unselected patient problems, straightforwardness in contact and care as the characteristics of a competent GP. They viewed patients with different approaches and related their observations to problems of fragmentation within this large area of medical care. This is a period in the training of students in which students’ views of general practice are formed.