Family medicine: Perception and attitudes among Indian medical students

CONTEXT: Currently, family medicine is not taught as a part of the undergraduate medical curriculum in India. In this context, the perceptions and attitudes of Indian medical students regarding family medicine as a career choice were studied. AIMS: This study aims to study the perceptions and attitudes prevalent among Indian medical students regarding family medicine as a career choice and discuss its future implications. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey study design. METHODS AND MATERIAL: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate medical (MBBS) students attending the 2016 medical student conference DEMEDCON at Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College in Kolar, Karnataka, India. Besides demographics, the survey included questions pertaining to awareness, exposure, and interest in family medicine in India. We also asked an open-ended question regarding the respondent's perception of the future of family medicine in India. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Simple statistics such as mean and frequency (%) were calculated. Given the small sample size, no formal tests for statistical significance were performed. RESULTS: Responses were collected from 45 students between the ages of 18–24 from 6 medical colleges across Karnataka and Puducherry. The majority (64%) of respondents were in their 3(rd) or 4(th) year of medical college. 98% of respondents expressed a desire to learn more about family medicine as a specialty, and 82% expressed a need to introduce it as a subject in medical college. However, only 58% were aware of the Medical Council of India accredited status of family medicine in India. CONCLUSIONS: There exists a significant lack of awareness and inadequate exposure among Indian medical students toward family medicine. Nonetheless, there is widespread optimism and a desire to learn more about the subject. Increased awareness and avenues for exposure to family medicine in the formal undergraduate medical curriculum is the need of the hour.