Perception of family medicine as the career option among young Indian graduates

Abstract

Aims and Objectives: 1. To estimate the number of graduates who had exposure to family medicine specialty. 2. To estimate the number of graduates who consider family medicine as the carrier option. 3. To compare the perception of family medicine as career option among the young graduates who had exposure to family medicine during their training or practice with no exposure. Materials and Methods: It is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study. The doctors graduated 2018 onwards were contacted through SIMSA (South Indian Medical Students Association) and WhatsApp groups (students doing the rural health service and intern WhatsApp). Subjects who consented for the study filled the google form. Filled Google forms were evaluated. Results: First choice of among the graduates is general medicine followed by general surgery and paediatrics. Family medicine is 4th in the order. There is overall a very positive perception about the family medicine among the respondents irrespective of exposure to family medicine. Majority of them feel that it gives good financial gain (55.55%), interesting (67.03%), work and family balance (75.55%), which contributes to individual and community health (84.07%) and essential part of healthcare system (83.33%). Graduates feel that career growth (26.66%) and academic growth (33.70%) are less and it is not popular (38.88%). If there is an opportunity, majority would choose family medicine (54.44%). Conclusions: Around 5.9% are open to choose family medicine as the career option. Medical graduates perceive family medicine subject to give them good work and family balance and the subject is essential part of healthcare system and contributes to the individual and community health, and at the same time, it may not give them great financial gain, academic and career growth.