Factors associated with selection of practice in primary care and rural health among medical and nursing students in China
Victoria Fan A § , Mary Guo B § , Jianlin Hou C * , Deveraux Talagi A , Yang Ke D and Weimin Wang EA Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
B Deceased. Formerly of Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
C Institute of Medical Education and National Center for Health Professions Education Development, Peking University, Beijing 100083, China.
D School of Oncology, Peking University, Beijing 100142, China.
E Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100083, China.
Australian Journal of Primary Health 28(6) 556-563 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY21271
Submitted: 19 November 2021 Accepted: 16 August 2022 Published: 9 September 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of La Trobe University. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Background: China has a shortage of physicians and nurses in primary care and rural health. This study explores factors that influence the choices of medical and nursing students in China to select a career in primary care, or in rural health.
Methods: A total of 3826 medical students and 1771 nursing students were surveyed in China. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-squared tests, and logistic regression models.
Results: The majority of medical and nursing students were willing to practice primary care (55% and 59%, respectively). Yet, only 16% and 5% of medical and nursing students, respectively, desired to work in a village or small city. The most common reasons cited to not practice primary care is the lack of opportunities for clinical skills improvement, academic and personal development, and networking. Medical students who were living in a rural residence between ages 1 and 15 years were more likely to report a willingness to work in a rural location (OR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.33–3.58) or in primary care (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.31–2.25).
Conclusion: More efforts are needed to understand how preferences among medical and nursing students influence their career choices and change in choices over time. Understanding the concerns of students can help to tailor interventions in healthcare education and training to increase student satisfaction with their career choice and enrolment counts in medical and nursing fields.
Keywords: career preference, China, healthcare workforce, medical student, nursing student, primary care, provider recruitment, rural health.
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