Who Wants to be a Family Doctor in Ukraine? An Opinion Survey among Senior Undergraduate Students

Introduction. According to the results of Western studies, a global trend has been established
that there is a reduced popularity of family medicine (FM) as a specialty. Despite the significant
demand for these primary care specialists, in many countries the frequency of students choosing FM
as a future profession remains low. The issue of the attitude to the specialty of FM among students
of Ukrainian universities is not well understood.
Purpose. Assessment of the views of Ukrainian and foreign medical students of Uzhgorod National
University on their future careers in general and on family medicine in particular.
Materials and methods. The sample was composed of students of UzhNU in 6th year who were
foreign students from Asia and Africa, as well as Ukrainian 5th year students. Among Ukrainian
students, the survey was conducted once. Two questionnaires were conducted among foreign
students (before and after they completed the FM cycle). The prototype of the questionnaire was
a modified questionnaire version used by a group of scientists from Oxford University in 2016. The
main questions were related to the students’ choice of medical specialty, as well as its reasons. Other
issues dealt with various factors related to the choice of FM as a profession.
Results. The number of completed questionnaires was 81% (81 out of 100) in the first survey, 77%
(77 out of 100) in the second survey among foreign students and 93% (112 of 121) among Ukrainian
students.
Only 10% of foreign and 3.6% of Ukrainian students were ready to choose the profession of FM.
At the same time, 65% of foreign and 17% of Ukrainian students could imagine themselves as family
doctors. Factors that influenced students’ attitudes towards FM were studied. Most students (both
Ukrainian (71%) and foreign (79%)) found it necessary to study FM at the medical faculty. During
the qualitative part of the study, some students noted the attractive aspects of FM: convenient
working hours, a variety of practical activities, reforming of the primary care system in Ukraine, the
opportunity to be an example for students and interns. Others identified the negative factors of
the FM profession: routine, the need to be competent in various medical fields, and a high level
of responsibility. Among foreign students, after passing through the FM cycle, there was a change
in their attitude to the profession of a FM. The number of students who noted the advisability of
teaching FM to medical students also increased. Moreover, regarding the choice of specialty among
foreign students, no significant changes were observed after passing the cycle.
Conclusion. The number of Ukrainian and foreign senior students of UzhNU who chose FM as
their future specialty was insignificant, but the majority emphasized the desirability of studying it.
Among foreign students, it was found that the attitude to the profession of a FM was improved after
passing through the FM cycle. At the same time, the percentage of students choosing this specialty
did not significantly increase.