Abstract
BackgroundMany medical students in Japan were brought up in urban areas, thus rural medical practice is often unfamiliar to them. The University of Tsukuba created a one-day early_exposure program to provide freshman students with experience in rural practices. This study was designed to clarify how this one-day early_exposure program affected medical students’ attitudes toward and knowledge of rural practices.FindingsFirst-year medical students (n = 103) were assigned to one of seven rural clinics in which they experienced rural practice for one day. A pre- and post-program questionnaire, rated on a 5-point Likert scale, was administered to assess students’ interest in and knowledge of rural medical practice, with higher scores indicating greater interest and knowledge. Respondents who gave answers of 4 or 5 were defined as having high interest and knowledge. One hundred and one (98.1%) responses were received from students. After the program, the percentage of students interested in rural medical practices was increased (pre- and post-program: 39.0% and 61.0%, respectively; P < .001), as was the number of students who wanted to become physicians in a rural medical practice (pre- and post-program: 53.0% and 73.0%, respectively; P < .01).ConclusionsOur one-day early_exposure program demonstrated a positive impact on medical students’ interest in and knowledge of rural medical practice. Further follow-up surveys are needed to clarify whether these effects are sustained long-term.
Highlights
The shortage of physicians in rural areas is a longstanding and serious problem in Japan and worldwide [1,2]
It has been suggested that medical students brought up in rural areas have a preference for rural medical practices [6] and are more likely to return to rural areas after training [7]
Recent reports suggested that exposing medical students of urban backgrounds to rural medical practices increases their interest in opportunities for such placement [9,10]
Summary
The shortage of physicians in rural areas is a longstanding and serious problem in Japan and worldwide [1,2]. National policymakers and educators continue their attempts to overcome the challenge of retaining a physician workforce in rural areas [3]. In this regard, communitybased education (CBE) has been reported to have some positive effect on recruitment of rural physicians [4,5]. Many medical students in Japan were brought up in urban areas, rural medical practice is often unfamiliar to them. The University of Tsukuba created a one-day early_exposure program to provide freshman students with experience in rural practices. This study was designed to clarify how this one-day early_exposure program affected medical students’ attitudes toward and knowledge of rural practices
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