The Presence of a Physician Role Model and the Career Preference of Medical Students Are Associated With Rural Self-efficacy

Rural career preference is known to be affected by rural self-efficacy. This study aims to explore whether the presence of a physician role model and having a medical department of interest influence rural self-efficacy among medical students. The study sample comprised 813 students (464 male and 349 female). We assessed rural self-efficacy using a validated scale that comprised 15 questions. The effect of the presence of a physician role model and the choice of medical department on rural self-efficacy score was examined. Multivariable-adjusted regression analysis showed that the presence of a physician role model was significantly associated with the rural self-efficacy score (β = 0.236, p < 0.001), as were gender (β = −0.096, p = 0.004), admission while living in hometown (β = 0.077, p = 0.041), receiving a scholarship for regional duty (β = 0.079, p = 0.025), admission based on school recommendation (β = 0.077, p = 0.031), and subjective difficulty with living in a rural area (β = −0.201, p < 0.001). Moreover, a higher rural self-efficacy score was significantly associated with students who listed general medicine/family medicine (β = 0.204, p < 0.001), pediatrics (β = 0.098, p = 0.004), or obstetrics and gynecology (β = 0.108, p = 0.002) as their department of choice, while anesthesiology (β = −0.075, p = 0.023) was significantly associated with a lower rural self-efficacy score. These relationships were consistent for both males and females. The presence of a physician role model and the choice of medical department are important factors for higher rural self-efficacy scores.