Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

Background: China faces major challenges in the distribution of health professionals, with serious shortages in rural areas and in the development of Primary Care Providers. The aim of this study was to investigate the career preferences of medical students in China and the impact of rural backgrounds on these preferences. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was done in 16 medical schools across China. Medical students in the final year of their programme completed a 58-item survey that included questions regarding their demographic characteristics, attitudes toward practice in low-resource areas, postgraduate planning, self-assessed competency, university facilities assessment, and financial situation. We used descriptive calculation and Logit model for the analysis. Peking University Institutional Review Board reviewed the research design and exempted the study from additional ethical approval. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous. Findings: We included completed surveys from 3020 students in the analysis. Upon graduation, 1465 (48∙5%) medical students preferred to work in urban public hospitals, and this number rose to 2223 (73∙6%) students when they were asked to state their anticipated preference 5 years after graduation. Students’ top three reasons for preferred careers were “good career prospects”, “living close to parents or families”, and “remuneration”. Those students who preferred to work in rural areas upon graduation were more likely to be people who had lived in rural areas at the age of 1–15 years (β=2∙05, p=0∧0000), had attended high school in rural areas (β=1∙73, p=0∧0000), or had parents currently living in rural areas (β=2∙12, p=0∧0000). Similar results were found for those students who preferred to work for Primary Care Providers.

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