Influencing factors and weight analysis for medical graduates to choose general practice in China

Objective To explore the influencing factors and the weights for medical graduates to choose general practice and work in grassroots posts in China. Methods On the basis of pre-investigation, the second interviews were conducted among medical students of grade two to established ahierarchical structure model. A survey was conducted with self-made questionnaire among 407 medical students of grade five from eight medical colleges selected by stratified random cluster sampling from January to June 2017. The influencing factors of choosing general practice choice as the future career were analyzed and the weights were calculated by analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Results Total 395 valid questionnaires were received from 161 males and 234 females students. Under the general goal layer of influencing factors for medical graduates to choose general practice, the weights of the four first-level indicators were: career status and prospects for development (weight: 0.299), salary (weight: 0.294), family contribution (weight: 0.207) and professional interest (weight: 0.200). Among the secondary indicators of career status and prospects for development, job satisfaction had the highest weight (comprehensive weight: 0.073), followed by the work environment (comprehensive weight: 0.064), social status (comprehensive weight: 0.061), patterns of doctor-patient relationship in comprehensive care of general practice (comprehensive weight: 0.052), and work intensity had the lowest weight (comprehensive weight: 0.048). Among the five secondary indicators of professional interest, the weight of clinical practice was the highest(comprehensive weight: 0.066), followed by the guidance of theoretical teachers (comprehensive weight: 0.063). In the level 3 indicators in clinical practice, the attitude of general practice teachers to general practice had the higher weight than those teachers in other departments (the comprehensive weights were 0.037 and 0.030, respectively). Conclusion Career status and development prospects and salary are the main influencing factors for medical students to choose general practice. Teachers′ guidance in clinical practice and theoretical study is the most critical factor for medical students to be interested in general practice. Key words: Career choice; General Practice; Questionnaires; Grass-roots employment; Medical undergraduate